5 Gifts That Travel Light

Food 52, Anthropologie, Magnolia

Want to save some money this holiday season, yet still give great gifts?  Then set your sights on beauties that won’t break the bank in postage or checked baggage charges. Items like these travel light on everything but style.

Mister Rogers Comes Home

Amazon, Fine Art America, Ballard Designs, Pottery Barn, West Elm

This month, we’re about to have “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” as Tom Hanks steps into the world of beloved children’s tv host, Fred Rogers.  Although the show debuted over 50 years ago, its lessons about kindness, honesty and friendship are still relevant for the times in which we live today.  So, too, are key elements of the original show’s set design which created a warm, comfy vibe that viewers loved then and designers love now (with an updated twist). Want to experience a beautiful day every day? Invite Mister Rogers into your home with decor like this.

5 Stylish Safety Products for Your Home

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.

Say Cheese

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.

Fun for Fall? Book It!

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.

Alfresco Fun

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.

Flying High—Chic Bird Decor

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.

6 Small Space Garden Must-Haves

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.

This Spring, Home Softens Up

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.

5 Ways to Bring Cottage Garden Style Home

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.