Decorating

Name: Jason & John of Madcap Cottage Location: Lefferts Gardens, Brooklyn Size: 2,800 square feet, Tudor-style single family home Years lived in: 4 years “Green is our neutral,” explains Jason, as my jaw drops. Everything in Jason and John’s house that can have color does. And every color is saturated. I can’t stop smiling and sometimes I have to laugh out loud for the sheer joy of it. John and Jason have a long history and familiarity with design.

It’s that time of year when a lot of people are graduating, and striking out on their own, and moving into their first real ‘adult’ home or apartment. It’s an exciting, and maybe also a little intimidating, time, full of possibilities and pitfalls. Here are a few of the things that I wish I had known when I was a fledgling decorator, all those years ago. 1. Don’t buy everything all at once.

In the digital era, even with Pinterest and what have you, there’s still something so comforting about having images and ideas that you love on actual pieces of paper. Maybe this is why more and more people are creating inspiration boards — delightful little assemblages of art and ideas and whatever catches your eye. Here are ten of our favorites. Go ahead, grab some pushpins and dig in.

Living rooms are like living, breathing things that constantly evolve along with their inhabitants. We watch them change over time, as tastes and moods shift. Where are they today? If you’re thinking of redecorating or renovating, here are four of the top trends for modern living rooms. We’ve seen a lot of light wood and Scandinavian pastels in recent years, but lately there’s been a shift — perhaps ushered in by Abigail Ahern — towards dark walls and moody decor.

Name: Kerry Maloney Location: French Quarter — New Orleans, Louisiana Size: 800 square feet Years lived in: 6 years; Rented Six rows of neatly displayed wigs decorate a brick wall in Kerry Maloney’s French Quarter apartment. They’ve been collected from Mardi Gras costumes throughout the years. They’re decked out with stars and plumes, birds and elaborate handmade crowns. There’s the French aristocrat, the drum major, the conehead, and the wizard.

Want to be rolling around in creative inspiration on the regular at home? You need only put effort into cultivating creativity with your decor choices. Yes, a little thought into how you arrange your home and what you put in it can affect how creative you feel as you live in it — and we’ve got some tips that could help you design a space that boosts your creative levels high. Pick out furniture that can take a beating. That you can dance on. Put coffee cups on without a coaster.

Either by choice or by the vagaries of fate, you have found yourself living in a studio apartment. That’s it. Just one room. And maybe you’re cool with that, but you don’t feel like looking at your bed all day long. Or you need a little privacy for when houseguests stay, or you just want to create a little separation between the parts of your apartment devoted to sleeping and waking. Apartment Therapy has a few ideas.

Now we know you all hate it when we say you SHOULD follow this or that rule, so call this post the Guideline of Threes in your mind if you must. Because there’s a good reason that sitcom wasn’t called Four’s Company, or there weren’t six blind mice. And that same reason can help you create an interesting home that’s not just functional, but also has visual depth and satisfaction.

Name: Mark, Levi, + Theo Location: Upper East Side; New York City Size: 400 square feet Years lived in: 1.5 years; Rented Mark and Levi both share a love for beautiful things. With Mark working for Artsy, an online destination for the art world, and Levi for the luxury American jewelry brand David Webb, they both spend their days surrounded by beauty. Stepping into their Upper East Side home, their creative perspective is evident as is the harmony with which they decorate their space.

My friend’s newly purchased apartment includes a short interior staircase and I suggested she paint the stair rails the same color as the (blue) wall behind them. Will she do it? She’s thinking about it. There are many good reasons to try this painting technique; here are seven along with pictures to illustrate the strategy. 1.

Name: Candace Soriano and Jason Rein Location: Hancock Park, Los Angeles, California Size: 800 square feet Years lived in: 7 months; Rented Candace is an interior designer by trade and when you walk into her home in the heart of Los Angeles, it exudes a beautiful, relaxed, grown up feel. She lives here with her boyfriend, Jason, and they chose this part of town because of its historical charm.

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!

Windowless bathrooms have the potential to be very dark and dreary places. Without natural light pouring in, they can turn into caves you don’t want to spend a lot of time in. But they don’t have to be unpleasant. There are some things you can do — design-wise — to make your bathroom lovely despite the lack of a view. Here are nine windowless bathrooms doing it right — inspiration for your own home!

Name: Emily Quinton and Stef Location: East Dulwich; London, United Kingdom Size: 1,500 square feet Years lived in: 6 months; Rented “Create something every day,” reads the brightly-colored motto that adorns the living room wall of the vibrant, inspiring family home of writer, photographer and maker Emily Quinton, her technologist and artist husband Stef Lewandowski, and their four young children.

If you’re stuck with lower-than-you’d-like ceilings and can’t renovate, you’re not necessarily stuck with the look or feel of low ceilings; there are some ideas you can try. We’ve gathered the most effective tricks for making your ceilings feel higher than they are. Creating a faux crown molding area that matches the color of your ceiling will make it feel like your ceiling is taller than it actually is.

Name: Lisa Price Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan Size: 936 square feet Years lived in: 10 years; owned Imagine a house where the best of the best vintage and thrift store finds are arranged by color. Imagine really cool vintage furniture in really good condition. Imagine that almost every accessory and piece of furniture comes with a story (from a family member, a stranger at a flea market or a previous owner at a yard sale).

There are a few things that are transformative—things that go beyond decorating and get to the very core of what makes you happy at home.

Name: Chris Tuttle Location: Boystown; Chicago, Illinois Size: Studio Years lived in: 1 year; rented From the moment I walked into Chris Tuttle’s space, I felt like I had escaped city life. Dark walls and rich décor set the warm mood. The snug studio is peppered with charming and colorful vintage finds. And when I say snug I mean snug – you can practically see the entire thing from the front door.

Name: Marlowe Clementine Location: Echo Park; Los Angeles, California Room Size: 17.5 ft x 9 ft Last time we visited the home of Amy Pigliacampo and her husband Corey Szopinksi, they had been living there a mere 2 months. Now three years later, with their daughter on the way, Amy has completely redesigned their spare bedroom. Marlowe Clementine is due in March, soon to be welcomed home to one of the most creative and original nurseries I’ve ever seen.

Are you struggling with how to fit your furniture in the living room, and can’t for the life of you come up with a good layout? You might need to “float” your furniture — or pull everything out from the wall and create an island of sorts comprising your sofa, chairs and tables — and anchor it all with an area rug. What decorating magic is this do you ask? And how will you know if this is the answer?

It’s always interesting when homeowners make an unexpected choice in their spaces. In these nine rooms, one might expect to see a rug, yet these decorators have chosen to forgo one. It’s a slightly more subtle, sparse look that really lets the rest of the room shine. Take a look. So, tell us. What do you think about this look? Would you (do you) sport a bare floor?

Today, we continue our collaborative series curated by Jeanine Hays and Bryan Mason of Aphrochic for Apartment Therapy. They handpick homes from around the world to share that capture the culture and style that they celebrate in their book, Remix: Decorating with Culture, Objects, and Soul.

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.

I’ve been living in London for nearly a decade now, having moved here from Canada as a bright-eyed university graduate, in search of tea and adventure. Through my friendships and work as an interior designer (not to mention my work for Apartment Therapy— I love a good House Tour snoop), I’ve been lucky enough to have been invited into countless English homes over the years, from Cornwall to Yorkshire and nearly every county in between.

Living in a small space can be quite a design challenge (which is why we’re here, right?). But you embrace it, settle in, and before long, you’re a small-space-living expert! You know just how to entertain guests in a studio, make an office double as a nursery, or carve storage out of just about anything. So what’s one to do when you move out of the charming little apartment and into a house?

Name: Jennifer Laskey + Hunter Hall (and Kitty Capone + Niblet) Jennifer is the Creator/ Owner of RedLight Special Events, Weddings by Jennifer Laskey & Salvage Beauty Design Co. and Hunter is the Creator/Managing Partner of Archetype Hospitality & Development, LLC. Location: Los Feliz; Los Angeles, California Size: 1,300 square feet Years lived in: 6.

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.

Bookcases don’t have to be boring. After you see these 8 designs, you may never be satisfied with plain old, run-of-the-mill bookcases ever again. Sorry about that. The SCALA bookcase by Faktura, with its asymmetrical shelves, is more visually interesting than your average bookcase. It’s quite lovely — and is available to purchase for $1,400, no DIYing required. This beauty is the Gerald Bookcase, available from Made Goods.

I never fail to be impressed by the ingenuity of city dwellers living in itty bitty teeny tiny spaces. Especially now that I’m shopping for apartments in New York, and all I can think is… where do you put the furniture? Here are five apartments belonging to real New Yorkers who have solved that problem in creative ways, and managed to squeeze a lot of living out of a little space. I really like what Linsey’s done with a fairly typical New York studio layout.

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!

Of the many things you might be on the lookout for when searching for your next apartment to live in — hardwood floors, big windows, a lot of space — don’t neglect the odd but useful items on this list. They might save you a lot of future pain and make sure you enjoy your next home! We spotted these ideas from a thread on Reddit asking for what to look out for and what to asking when looking for an apartment.

Name: Alana Biagioli & Taylor Gulbins Location: Hoboken, New Jersey Size: 900 square feet Years lived in: 6 months; Rented You may recall Taylor’s house call post a couple months ago, and the apartment in Hoboken that lured him and his girlfriend, Alana, out of Manhattan. The square footage and daylight in their home definitely seems worth the move. They have created a fresh and modern space that has plenty of character and craft. Decorating this apartment was clearly a labor of love.

When you live in the close quarters of an apartment or condo, a little bit of consideration can go a long way towards happy neighbors. Sharing a wall can get awkward, so think about these tips before problems arise. If you can prevent or nip little squabbles in the bud, you can potentially save yourself massive amounts of misery and stress for years to come. Consider these keep-the-peace ideas: Think about your shared wall when planning the layout of your room.

Your shower may have been designed purely for washing your skin and hair — but that doesn’t mean that’s all that goes on there. For the sake of science, and for the sake of writing an Apartment Therapy post about weird things people do in the shower, I took an informal survey of co-workers and friends (and did some cursory internet searches), which turned up all kinds of showertime activities that have nothing to do with bathing. Here are seven of the most unusual. Do laundry.

Let’s face it, as cozy and sweet as a small space can feel, it can also sometimes feel like the walls are closing in. With winter on the way, you’ll be spending a lot more time indoors, so you might consider investing in proven ways you can make your small space feel less claustrophobic. We’ve got seven ideas! In a small space, sometimes sacrifices have to be made to make a space feel more airy.

When the budget is tight and you don’t have tons of time to spend shopping, sometimes purchasing a lot of your home’s design elements from the same few places is just the easy thing to do. So then what can you do to make sure your living room doesn’t look like a catalog spread and that your home feels like “you?” Find the answer in a few simple steps.

Black and white is a great color combination: it’s classic, it’s sophisticated, you don’t have to worry about whether things match. But sometimes the combo of black and white can be a bit stark. How do you create a monochromatic interior that feels elegant without being forbidding? Here are some ideas to make your rooms look sophisticated with this classic color scheme, but still livable and comfortable.

People have used corn husks for fall crafts and DIY projects since long before the original Thanksgiving dinner. And here’s a tip: you don’t need to shuck a bunch of corn either— just use tamale wrappers from the grocery store. They are inexpensive, easy to work with, and can produce a wide variety of classic, long-lasting decorations. Here are ten to consider: Above, how to make basic corn husk flowers from The House That Lars Built.

I did it. Probably everyone you know has done it. But if you’re reading this, and you’re currently working on decorating your first apartment (or home), you can avoid making this classic blunder. The biggest mistake most first-time decorators makes is: buying too much stuff all at once. It’s easy to imagine, when you find yourself in a brand-new, completely empty, apartment or home that you need to fill every nook and cranny right away.

It’s funny how sometimes a phrase can change its meaning as you change your mindset. That is, its definition and significance remain the same and suddenly you realize that you’re the one who has come to better understand it. Such was the case recently when I was reminded of a French term I learned and thought I understood long ago: jolie laide.

Staring all day at photos of enviable bathrooms full of bold tile floors, brand new fixtures, dreamy cabinets and claw foot tubs made for soaking in, it can be easy to get discouraged and focus on what you can’t do when you rent (or if you own but don’t have a huge budget for renovations). But just because you can’t tear everything out and start over doesn’t mean you can’t make your bathroom more beautiful.

Name: Julia Vallelunga & Bruno Gariépy Location: Montréal, Québec Size: 1,000 square feet Years Lived In: 1.5 years; Owned Julia is the founder and editor of À la Mode Montréal, a blog about décor, fashion, trends, travel and day-to-day life. Since the beginning of 2014, À la Mode Montréal has its own online store that offers a selection of beautiful handmade objects by international designers.

Today’s tour is the newest in a collaborative series curated by Jeanine Hays and Bryan Mason of Aphrochic for Apartment Therapy. They handpicked homes from around the world to share that capture the culture and style that they celebrate in their book, Remix: Decorating with Culture, Objects, and Soul.

Welcome to my parent’s spare room, soon to be Man Cave for Snoring Father, or Respite for Tired Mother, depending on which way you look at it. Dad’s official take on the room’s “before” status? “Too much basket.” There’s not really that much “basket,” just a woven chair, laundry basket and tiny basket on the bedside. For a mother and daughter team who love all things woven, is that really too much?

(Image credit: Andrew Forcier) From The Kitchn → October Maker Talk: Kelsey Nixon’s Kitchen Confidence

Project by: Taiyo Location: Brooklyn, New York My roommate moved out of the larger room in my apartment so I took the opportunity and switched rooms. Playing with a blank canvas was both exciting and daunting, as I started accumulating furniture a few weeks before the switch hoping it would all work out in the end. I drew inspiration from Scandinavian design, Japan (where I’ve lived), and Brooklyn which resulted in a mix of natural wood and industrial-style elements.

Name: Stephanie A. Meyer Location: Lowry Hill; Minneapolis, Minnesota Size: 1800 square feet Years lived in: Just over a year; Rented As a food writer/blogger, photographer, and newly-minted cookbook author (coming this fall!), cooking and sharing food is at the heart of Stephanie A. Meyer’s home.

Name: Brice & Ilene Bloom-Ellis Location: Lincoln Square, Chicago, IL Size: 600 square feet Years lived in: 2 years; owned Brice and Ilene are two social workers from St. Louis, where they have a home filled with memories of raising a family, many of their favorite objects, and plenty of space. But, finding themselves in Chicago hotels way too often (Brice travels to Chicago regularly for work), these mid-century lovers began exploring real estate on a small scale.

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.

Color is kind of tough, if we’re being honest. Or more accurately, a lot can go wrong when attempting to use color in your home, even with the best of intentions. Here are 10 of the most common color mistakes at home — and how you can fix them. Without light, color wouldn’t be much to look at. And as much as the right light can make a color sing…it can also make a gray go lavender or a white look dingy.

Is your small space starting to get a bit cramped, a little claustrophobic? Maybe you’re downgrading to a more petite pad and you’re feeling a little freaked. We can help. If you follow these 10 commandments, you’ll be happily living small in no time. Especially in a small space, clutter can completely take over and make your home feel even smaller than it already is. Get it under control and take back your space, no excuses.

It’s one thing to add in a lot of color into a living room. It’s another thing to mix a lot of bold colors expertly in one compact space. How do you do it so it’s exciting and not a messy jumble of hues? A favorite house tour with a particularly colorful living room holds six secrets worth stealing for your own colorful home.

Name: Justin Bauer Location: Boyle Heights; Los Angeles, California Size: 3,500 square feet Years lived in: 2 years; Rented Artist and Creative Director Justin Bauer‘s industrial live/work space is located on the outskirts of Downtown Los Angeles and is an open-concept lover’s dream.

Location: Brooklyn, New York Size: Approximately 750 square feet Years lived in: 5.5 years; Rented Upon entering my pre-war Brooklyn apartment, the first things you see are the dreamy period archways and the three large black and white photographs of my daughter as a newborn, framed against grey walls. My love of photographing interiors has influenced the style of my home just as my love of decorating influences my photography of beautiful spaces.

Name: Avery Location: Seattle, Washington Room Size: 9.5 x 13 I have a special place in my heart for nurseries with dark walls. When I was designing my first-born’s space, I was terrified to go dark, but my husband was really into the idea. After we did it, the space immediately felt so cozy and restful. So when I came across Avery’s nursery, I was head over heels.

Important Update: We’ve got all the finalized details on the new IKEA kitchen! Click here for our new post filled with photos, prices and tons of info on sizes, finishes and features. I’m sure you’ve heard the not-so-secret rumor that IKEA is transitioning to a new line of kitchen cabinets in 2015 and it’s all true – it’s definitely happening and the new system, called SEKTION, is on its way and will be in US stores soon.

What differentiates a truly stunning, minimally designed interior from one that’s just not full of a lot of stuff? From a room that’s sophisticated and rich rather than plain and boring? Creating simple spaces isn’t hard, but it does require a particular balance of key design ingredients to make the right minimal mix. 1.

That je ne sais quoi feeling certain rooms seem to exude? Those are spaces with a serious mastery of mood. A room’s atmosphere — how it feels to be in it and experience it — isn’t just important to places like restaurants and bars; a home can have an awesome atmosphere, too. Here’s how. 1. Know what mood you want to go for You looking for a bright white and cheery space?

A lot of the open shelving we’ve seen falls into one of two categories: simple floating shelves, or cabinets sans cabinet doors. But that doesn’t mean yours has to. Take a look at these ten inspiring examples of unique open shelving… and then maybe get inspired to build your own. Above: how beautiful are is this brass and glass shelving unit? The whole kitchen is gorgeous, of course, but it’s really the shelves that steal the show.

Most good things in life do take time, but every now and then you can cut some corners, spend zero dollars and take a few minutes to improve a room in your home without a significant time (or money) investment. This weekend, make your bedroom a slightly better place with these nine easy changes you can tackle. 1. Move your phone charger across the room from your bed Actually, if you have a separate alarm clock then take your phone and charger out of your bedroom all together.

Name: Samantha Rose Location: Atlanta, Georgia Room Size: 13′ x 13′ I love when a nursery strikes that perfect balance between being sweet enough for a baby, but sophisticated enough for the grown ups in the family to feel right at home as well. Ryan and April managed to do just that when they created this lovely nursery for their baby girl, Samantha Rose.

Name: Marcus and Cooper Location: Los Angeles, CA Room Size: approx 10′ x 10′ With seven children, you could imagine that Joy Dolan doesn’t even have time to breathe, let alone decorate this fantastic vintage military room for two of her boys. In fact, she had started priming the walls when the family got a call that their new baby was ready for adoption, and that put an eighteen month delay on the project.

Welcome to the most chaotic, most used, most loved room in my home, my kitchen! Now, this kitchen certainly isn’t the biggest I’ve lived with (That award goes to my first place in Houston. It only had one cabinet, but technically the kitchen was 12 by 15 feet!) or fanciest I’ve ever had (That would be my first kitchen in NYC.

They’re a familiar scene dotting the city skyline — sleekly conical yet distinctly old-world — but just how much do you know about how water towers work, why we still use them and exactly how safe the tanks where we store our drinking water really are? The municipal water mains of New York City provide enough pressure to lift water roughly six stories up in the air. As turn-of-the-century buildings grew taller and taller, so did the demand for water at higher elevations.

We spend so much time in the kitchen. We spend so much time on our kitchens. The last thing you want to plonk in that space is a great big hunk of rainforest-themed plastic! Here are some high chairs that are good looking and long wearing, that you will use many kids over and never tire of seeing (and wiping down) day in, day out. 1. Svan Signet’s High Chair. A customizable chair with optional seat cover, wrap around bentwood bucket seat.

Name: Eva Katz and Philip Sugerman Location: Jamaica Plain; Boston, Massachusetts Size: 2,600 square feet Years lived in: 8 years; Owned No wonder passersby stop to snap photos: Situated on a charming street near Jamaica Pond in Boston’s Emerald Necklace, the exterior of Eva and Philip’s pretty Painted Lady is a total jewel. Inspired by art, food, and worldy travels, the inside shimmers just as brightly.

Once upon a time, I was flat-hunting in London and found an adorable one. The location was convenient and the space bright and sunny. The problem? The bathroom was located off the bedroom, meaning that guests would have to go past my bed in order to use it. Here’s how to make the most of this sometimes awkward layout: Though I immediately discounted that flat, I’ve since discovered that this layout isn’t as ridiculous (or rare) as I once thought.

You don’t need a bold wall paint color to turn the tide on a bland bedroom. These six bedrooms — despite their white walls — are real-life examples from our house tours of rooms that wow. And they are full of bold ideas to borrow for your own bedroom (in case it’s feeling a little too white and boring). Pictured above: Can’t do color on the walls? Do texture instead! And then also put texture on the bed, too, just for good measure.

I just got the chance to see a friend’s new house, and the conversation during the visit turned to owning vs. renting. True to the “grass is greener” maxim, we each had bad things to say about our current situation.

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?

We have a lot of really phenomenal house tours, and love revisiting them through various lenses. Last week I almost incited a riot when featuring spaces from women who live alone (here’s that post and its very controversial title). Today’s post shines the spotlight on ten guys from last year, and their approach to decorating homes that are unequivocally theirs. Here are ten favorites from the past year: 1.

Name: Ian and Martha Robinson Location: Church Hill; Richmond, Virginia Size: 1,800 square feet Years lived in: 4 years; Owned Ian and Martha Robinson have the kind of style that seems effortless. Once you get to know them, however, you realize that it’s even better than that: their style has developed over time from attention to craftsmanship, quality, and artistry. They value simplicity and beauty, and are mindful about the practicalities of living on a budget and with two children.