Recent Articles

Decorating Your Children’s Ro...

Fun Themes I’ve seen some fabulous kids’ rooms over the past ten years, as many of my friends and associates have had children and decided to decorate wonderful rooms for them. I’ve seen magical castles, incredible murals, and just about every theme I can think of, tackled in many different ways. And I must...

Smart Clothing Closets

We expect a lot from closets. We want them to not only hold the items we use, but they also must hold the things we rarely need and even some things we just don’t want to see. And we want our closets to do both of these jobs at the same time. Is it any wonder that many of us have closets that don’t look perfectly...

Town House Halls, Part 2

Style Pointers WALLS Golden yellow is a favorite town-house color, especially for creating a perpetually sunny hallway. Instead of genuine wainscoting, gray-striped wallpaper absorbs the brunt of the day-to-day scuffs. White-painted woodwork is typical of the town-house style. FLOOR Traditional black and white checkerboard...

Apartment Bedrooms, Part 2

Style Pointers WALLS AND CEILING Fresh white walls and ceiling reflect the light and create a spacious atmosphere as well as a neutral backdrop for colorful furnishings and accessories. ACCESSORIES Framed posters reinforce the blue and white color theme and break up the wall space. A few well-chosen accessories – vases of...

Special Places In Your House

In your house, you probably have two types of spaces to decorate: your “predetermined spaces” and your “free spaces.” Your predetermined spaces (or entire rooms, in some cases) are those that you know you need, you know exactly how you’ll use them, and you know what type of furnishings you need for...

Beach House Bathrooms, Part 1

Bring a breath of fresh air to town bathrooms with a breezy beach-house theme, or create a soothing mood inspired by the natural colors and textures of the seashore. The beach-house bathroom is foil of gentle contrasts. Clean lines and a restricted color palette create a fresh, uncluttered look. The colors of sun, sea, and sand...

How To Choose Lighting, Part 1

A successful lighting scheme that meets practical needs and creates atmosphere plays an important part in establishing the style and character of your home. There’s more to home lighting than a central ceiling fixture backed up by a couple of wall or table lamps. A well-planned lighting scheme should be both practical and...

Beach House Bathrooms, Part 2

Furnishings The textures and patterns of the seashore – as well as its subtle colors – should be reflected in the furnishings of the beach-house bathroom. Learn from nature and balance smooth and rough surfaces: tiles, porcelain, and painted wood with crunchy sisal and seagrass matting, containers and wicker...

Sofa Beds And Futons, Part 1

Finding room for relatives and friends to stay can be tricky, but having a sofa bed or futon in the living room means you don’t need a separate guest room. Sofa beds and futons are real space savers that allow you to use rooms for more than one purpose. They are probably the most commonly used dual-purpose items of...

Introduction To Storage

Storage space is an elusive concept, and the “perfect” amount is often just a little more than we have. The right amount of storage is like a carrot always dangling before us. And no matter what we do, it seems impossible to reach it. Many of us equate “space”-such as closets-with storage. “If I...