Fire Design, Amazon, Pottery Barn
Home safety should be should be a priority year-round, but especially during the holidays. Whether guests are headed your way or you’re heading out, here’s how make your home safer without giving an inch on style. Continue reading
Crate and Barrel, Anthropologie, World Market
Recently, I found myself thinking about how hard it’s gotten to plan dinner or party menus. For every person who shuns meat, there’s another who’s convinced that fried food is the devil’s work. Still others believe that should a crumb of bread touch their lips, carb-ageddon will occur. Just when I was about to resign myself to restaurant rendezvouses for the rest of my life, it dawned on me that restoring menu planning sanity was easy. Just say cheese. Continue reading
Zazzle, Amazon, Society 6, Wall Monkeys, Red Bubble
In a surprising twist of design fate, books are the look to check out for Fall. This new spin on an old school favorite is a clever mix of classic, contemporary and high tech smarts. Here’s how to turn the page on style with a bit of literary wit. No reading required. Continue reading
Target, French Bull, Pottery Barn, Williams Sonoma, James Ransom, Amazon, Outward Hound
This is the time of year when it’s hard to do anything indoors. So give yourself permission to leave the office early or set those household tasks temporarily aside. Kick back, relax, play. Summer’s here. Alfresco fun awaits. Continue reading
Crate and Barrel, Fishs Eddy, Pottery Barn, Ballard Designs
Although a design classic for centuries, birds are winging their way back into the style spotlight today. Sleek, chic and crafted in materials that are very of-the-moment, this latest spin on nature’s fine feathered friends is something to chirp about. These are birds that flock together in high style no matter what look you’re into. Continue reading
Gardener’s Supply, Williams Sonoma, Vivaterra
Americans are gardening with gusto, with six million of us trying it for the first time in recent months, according to the National Gardening Association. If growing your own food is appealing but seems impossible because of your home’s small outdoor footprint, grab your spade and get ready to dig into the trend with help from smartly designed products like these. Continue reading
Jonathan Adler, West Elm, Vivaterra, Wedgwood
The harshness of winter is giving way to a Springtime scene that draws inspiration from nature in quiet, contemporary fashion. Blues, browns and whites form a familiar, yet fresh, palette in subdued tones. Shapes are more rounded and organic with simple, clean lines. Natural materials add authenticity. Here’s how to bring this easy-does-it look home in modern style. Continue reading
C. Jordan
No matter how often I travel across the pond, my heart still skips a beat when I come across a garden like this one in Stratford-upon-Avon. Its relaxed embrace of nature, with a subtle yet sophisticated mix of color, shape and texture, disarms with charm as only English gardeners seem to know how to do. Until now. This Spring, designers here in America have found their green thumb, too, with decor that’s as pretty as an English cottage garden. Here’s how to bring the look home—no green thumb required. Continue reading
Anthropologie, Wolfum, Amazon, Bauer Pottery
This Valentine’s Day, it’s time to up your game with something more than candy, flowers and a card. Show your Valentine some love -American style- with decor made right here in the USA. That’s how to get to the heart of the matter with style and the spirit of a passionate patriot. Continue reading
Soothing Home, Sharper Image, Hammacher Schlemmer
With the start of a new year, hope springs eternal even in turbulent times like these. While solving problems like a government shut-down are beyond our individual grasp, we can transform our homes into shelters from the storm with furnishings that combine good design with clever technology to calm, nurture and relax. Continue reading
