Decorating

I recently faced the dilemma of finding a pretty rug for my living room that didn’t cost a fortune. As I scoured the web, I found many had way too many shades of brown to count or resembled something thrown over a fence at a roadside sale. But I persevered and have handpicked a selection of pretty and affordable area rugs (all around 5′ x 8′) that won’t break the bank.

Not everything in Jessica and Ryan’s home is from a thrift store, but a large bulk of the furniture and decor is. Their style looks anything but second-hand, however. Not surprising considering Jessica Cook is a vintage seller with her Etsy shop Houseworking. I asked her to share her best thrifting tips, second-hand secrets and hand-me-down hints. You’ll be a thrifting expert in no time! Thrift stores are where I do the bulk of my vintage hunting.

Nothing beats the real deal, but when your wallet hasn’t quite caught up to your great taste, there are ways to get the look without going ridiculously over budget. Lookalikes abound, but not everyone is in the “ok with it” camp. For those who are, we offer up the following scenario: The second you win the lotto, you’ll be on board to pony up for the originals, but until that day comes, we might find you lounging on these knock-offs of classic beauties.

There are lots of reasons why you might have a too-big or too-bulky piece of furniture in your home. Perhaps it’s an inherited piece you can’t part with. Maybe you need a large piece of furniture for storage. Whatever the case, you don’t have to live with a heavy piece of furniture visually weighing down a room.

Looking to up the drama in your interiors? A go-to for daring designers and decorators, black paint provides an instant jolt and dose of some serious sophistication. And even if you’re not ready to go full-volume with ebony walls, architectural accents like window sills and moldings (and don’t forget furnishings!) can benefit from the deep hue to add intrigue to just about any room.

What do you think? Can the SUNNERSTA cart usurp the seemingly unstoppable and ever-popular RASKOG ? Will it capture the hearts of organizing decorators everywhere? It’s pretty darn cute and seems to tick many of the same boxes, including the price point. Designed by Henrik Preutz. IKEA says: Sometimes installing a large kitchen isn’t necessary, or too expensive and time-consuming. That’s why SUNNERSTA mini-kitchen was developed.

In the hunt for the perfect apartment—one that’s located where you want and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg—you sometimes have to make sacrifices. For Kimberly’s search in Philadelphia, she was willing to settle for a small “kitchen” since she doesn’t cook often. But she wasn’t going to settle on it being boring and beige.

The idea of 3D-printed products for the home is admittedly a little out there, even Jetsons-esque. The gadgets and gizmos a plenty on sale throughout the internet may run the gamut from completely bizarre to actually interesting (and normal), but no matter where they fall on the spectrum, something that came from a printer (that’s not a sheet of paper with words on it) is certainly a conversation starter. We rounded up a handful of things you might actually want to buy for your own home.

A. Two sofas facing each other OR B. A sofa and love seat arranged in the traditional L-shaped arrangement?

We’re officially launched! For all of you who are in the market for a sofa and want something fabulously classic, comfortable and well priced, here’s The Maxwell (with special discount just for readers), the first in a whole collection designed in collaboration with Interior Define. Designing this perfect sofa was a process that took nearly a year, but it was worth it.

Most sofas are well-behaved. They have a back and a seat and legs and maybe arms, and they look, well, like a sofa. These are not those sofas. These sofas (if you can even call a giant cat a sofa) dare to reimagine the very idea of the sofa, pushing ordinary furniture to weird and wild and even wonderful extremes. Above: It’s always nice to have a cat sit on your lap, but what if the tables were turned and you could curl up in your cat’s lap?

Lots of people aspire to make their home decor modern, but if you’re not careful, modern can become cold, stale and uninteresting. The cure for a mod overdose? Something natural. Like a touch of authentic, organic, real wood. Here are eight rooms to show you how it’s done. This raw wood bar top is the perfect addition to Corianne Burton‘s kitchen, as seen on her Instagram.

Recently I wrote about a big, beautiful new trend for the home: blooms and branches displayed in big, oversized vases. Many of you loved the look, but wanted to know: where does one find a vase this big? So I’ve rounded up a few options. A few things I was looking for: vases made of clear glass (minimal, works with any decor, shows off flowers well), and that measured 12 inches or more in at least one dimension.

Think about it: when you go to a new friend’s house for the first time, what’s the first thing you look at? The numbers, of course. House numbers may seem like a small thing, but they’re so crucial to first impressions. These days there are a myriad of interesting, modern numbers that will identify your house to the world — and show off your style, too. Above: Neutra house numbers, $27 each from DWR. Modern Avalon collection brushed nickel house numbers, $15.

Clean lines keep it chic, and deep seats and comfy cushions make it a really livable sofa for real people’s real homes. Oh, and the affordable price tag is a pretty great feature, too. The IKEA SÖDERHAMN sofa line has been on the market for a couple years now, and that means designers and dwellers have had ample time to take the piece home and show us myriad ways to style it.

Why settle for an oversized piece of art when you could have a piece of art that covers the whole wall? These 11 murals will have a big, big impact—hang one on the wall and your decorating job is pretty much done. A quick note to start: a wall mural differentiates from wallpaper in that it does not repeat. It’s an entire scene stretch across a determined width, while wallpaper matches up and repeats indefinitely.

You don’t have to remodel to add a lot of extra counter space and storage space to your kitchen — all it takes is a kitchen cart. These little workhorses are a great way to make a small kitchen more workable, or just help you get the most of your space no matter what size it is. We’ve rounded up a few of our favorite kitchen carts (and islands), in a range of prices to suit pretty much any budget. This hardworking IKEA cart is perfect for smaller kitchens.

It's a versatile workhorse you can use almost anywhere.

...and one that's too big.

Some people have a true knack for gift giving and manage to think of a thoughtful and personal gift for everyone on their list. Then there’s the rest of us who struggle, procrastinate and, often, end up with gifts that are generic, uninspired or wholly unsuitable for the recipient. Well, here’s an idea to simplify your holiday shopping this year: get everyone the same gift.

You might not think about coffee table heights as the sort of thing that fluctuates throughout the years, but like any design element, the ideal coffee table height not only changes from room style to room style, but also according to what’s in vogue in living rooms that are being lived in, in the current moment. Low coffee tables are just what they sound like: coffee tables with a top surface that sits a fair bit lower than your usual coffee table find.

The colorful sofa trend is going strong and, as a color addict myself, I couldn’t be happier. It’s hard not to smile when you walk into a room that has a big and bold pop of color. Color may not be for everyone and the thought of such a large piece in a bright color may be intimating, but what’s great is that a colorful sofa can actually be versatile.

There are a handful of products I use at home every single day. I don’t always think to sing their praises, and often forget they are there. But they are essentials nonetheless, without which I’d be decidedly unhappier. Here’s a list of ten non-flashy, basic things I can’t live without. My friend Michelle introduced me to Salux, a brand of Japanese wash cloths, and I am addicted.

One sure-fire way to make your home memorable? Take advantage of every opportunity to layer in a little personal style to your space. Adding (or replacing) a door knocker is a great example of exactly this type of decor-enhancing opportunity; they set the tone for a personality-packed interior, are usually VERY affordable and the install process is a quick, easy DIY project for a half hour on the weekend. Why have a same-old, same-old conservative – or even worse!

Armor Lux teamed up with Madewell to produce these really nice versions of their classic slipper. With temperatures dropping like they are, a solid pair of house slippers is a great thing to have. I’ve been gifted sheepskin slippers a few times in my life, but they don’t have any structure and quickly become uncomfortable to use every day. We rounded up four sturdy house slipper brands to keep you warm all winter long.

Hard butter when you want to spread it on hot piping toast or pancakes, or even when you want to slather it on top of a roast chicken is one of life’s little annoyances. It’s SO wonderful to work with soft butter in the kitchen and butter keepers or butter bells make it easy. This stunning one up top is Melissa Clark’s own and solid marble.

IKEA’s new kitchen cabinet system hits the stores on February 2nd. To help you plan your dream kitchen, as promised in our earlier inside scoop post, we’ve got need-to-know details ahead of time. Here’s inside info on everything from price to measurements, features to finishes, along with plenty of photos. Let the new kitchen designing and dreaming begin!

At the top of my wish list for this fall is a giant chunky knit wool blanket. I keep seeing them on Scandinavian design blogs, and every time I do I take a minute and imagine how wonderful it would feel to be snuggled up underneath a blanket that feels like a giant wool sweater for your entire body. So I’ve hunted down a few sources for these enormous lovelies, and also a few DIYs for those of you brave (and talented!) enough to make your own.

Flea markets are filled with curiosities, and I’m not just talking about the stuff for sale. Over the years I’ve witnessed a lot of strange behaviors as people navigate booths looking for bargains. There’s something about flea market culture (cash-based transactions? secondhand goods? informal setting?

Did you know that whenever you rearrange a room to eliminate clutter and make yourself feel better that you’re essentially practicing Feng Shui? Yep, it’s true; Feng Shui has a rep as one of those woo-woo things that you can either buy into or not, but it’s actually just the practice of making positive changes to your environment to produce positive changes in your life.

MANSTAD packs a lot of punch — it’s a (1) small scale sectional sofa that’s also a (2) bed and (3) storage. While there are options for sectionals with built in beds, few are this small, this inexpensive and few are designed to take advantage of the full footprint.

My husband and I decided we’d allow ourselves one splurge purchase for our baby. We had admired the Stokke Sleepi crib, but decided it was just too expensive – not just for our budget, but in principle. But when we started trying to figure out how to incorporate a crib into our home office space, the smaller Stokke started looking better and better.

Bo Concept recently let us test drive one of their more popular sofa beds to see what we thought of it. After 2 weeks of giving it our all, we have our verdict:Bo Concept is a European Furniture maker that falls somewhere between West Elm and Design Within Reach. Marketed as affordable luxury, their furniture is modern, sleek and often perfect for small spaces.