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What are some alternative seating options?
One option: Spring for the ottoman that matches your couch; that way, it can be pulled up to look like an extension of your couch and used as a footrest, or can be pulled away and used as individual seating. But designers are crazier about something even smaller and more stylish: a pouf. “The pouf was originally a North African cushion that, when filled, was completely firm and used for seating around a low table and as a table itself,” explains Sophie Lombard Bergé, whose L.A. company Sophie Nova
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How should I pick the paint combo for my walls?
We love browsing paint websites like Behr.com and BenjaminMoore.com to see what jumps out. Other areas of inspiration: Your closets. Look at the clothes you love versus the ones that get passed over. Then start flipping through catalogs (even the ones you normally toss) and tear out pages with colors you love. Take (or wear) these pieces of inspiration to a paint retailer, and have them match the color or find color combos that coordinate. Before you buy samples, keep in mind the lighting and size
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Holiday Decorating Tips?
We bought our first tree over the weekend -- a whooping five-footer -- it's the perfect size for our small space and fits nicely in the corner of our living room. We decorated it with a few ornaments and some lights, and it really got us in the holiday spirit. So now that we have the tree, I want to give our place a little holiday makeover. Besides the tree, we have a couple red candles, and that's it. I don't want to go too overboard, but I do want to find a few more holiday accents to add to our
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Hip for the Holidays
We've decided that this holiday season will be devoted to adding that extra special personal touch. Maybe a little more time spent gift-hunting for his family and mine. Actual effort spend on the holiday cards. And a little extra punch in making our home feel just right. My guy and I are starting with the mantel. Stockings are a must-have in our household and we fell in love with the funky picks (Check them out at HableConstruction.com ). Not only do they have cool designs, but the website lets you
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The Perfect Time Waster
This holiday season, if long lines and schedule delays have you waiting, break out a pad and pencil and get doodling. You may think I’m crazy, but it’ll make time fly and is a funny game to play with your spouse. Here’s how it works: After you scribble, flip through this cool book (check it out at restorationhardware.com ) to decode your doodle. It gives you the inside scoop on what over 100 common scribbles really mean. That weird cat or spider web your significant other makes? Well, I’ll leave
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What can I do with my husband's sports memorabilia?
Besides throw it away? Whoops -- did we say that out loud? We know DH loves his sporty paraphernalia, and although it might have been fabulous decor when he lived alone, a shot of the Red Sox winning the World Series does not need to go over your bed too. (We know, the curse was reversed. It’s still not going in the bedroom!) The new plan: Create a nook or room where he can proudly display his favorite sports moments. Maybe it’s a home office, a downstairs bathroom, the staircase going to the basement,
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How can we make our home cozier?
Use these five easy tricks to help you achieve serenity in your space: 1. Go botanical. Mounting a series of botanical prints on your walls is the quickest way to give them some stylish sophistication. Pictures of leaves, flowers, and even fruit bring in the outdoors and capture the spirit of all four seasons. 2. Update your curtains. Buy an inexpensive pair of plain curtains (we like pleated ones), and amp them up with some grosgrain ribbon trim sewn vertically down the edges. The heftiness of grosgrain
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What's Your Thanksgiving Table-style?
The countdown to Turkey day is finally upon us. So it's time to start getting your house holiday-ready. We have a ton of traditions in our family,and one of them is my mom and dad do the hosting while I assume the role of table setter. And as much as traditions are awesome, the table is where things are always changing (if you're a décor lover like me). The challenge: Setting a simple yet stylish table that can accommodate 25 plus. I love being able to do something different to the table without
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Stylish Green Holiday Decor
It’s suddenly time to think about holiday décor, especially if you’re too busy to shop for it and plan to do things online. The Vivaterra catalog just came in the mail, and I was excited to see that they have all sorts of eco-conscious but surprisingly stylish things that will dress up your home for the season. Check out these beautiful branch and bark candlesticks and vases, which are crafted out of recycled aluminum. They’ve also got organic *** willow wreaths, colorful ornaments and stockings
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Is there one room in the home that you think is best for wallpapering?
Given Campbell, Custom Design Nestpert: The powder room is my favorite because you can take a risk and try something that you probably wouldn't have done in a larger room. It's not a space that you have to live with on a daily basis. It is the room most used by guests and always makes a big statement when you have a bold pattern. It is also one of the smallest rooms in the house and therefore takes the least amount of wallpaper so you can do really extravagant or rare papers that would break the
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Sweet Syrup Surprises
Have you ever found inspiring decor in unexpected places? Maybe it's a vase that doubles as an umbrella stand. A coat hook that would actually look great holding your favorite necklaces. Or maybe it's an oversized pitcher from a flea market that would make a fabulous catchall for cooking utensils. I am always on the hunt for great ideas like these and was excited when I stumbled upon this sweet syrup canister at MassMoca.org . The clever design lets you read the writing right side up or upside down
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What do you tell people to look for when they are out shopping for the perfect wallpaper?
Given Campbell, Custom Design Nestpert: Have something in mind before you go out shopping. There are so many options out there that you can get easily off track if you don’t at least know the color or style you want prior to shopping. Don’t be afraid to look in magazines either. This is a great way to let someone else do the legwork and you sit back with a coffee and browse at your leisure. Almost every magazine has an article or two about wallpaper in it right now and most companies will send samples
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Initial Reaction
I'm a paper fanatic - so naturally- it was love at first sight when I saw these note cards at pinklovesbrown.com . I've always been and will always be that person who sends a note to simply say "hi". Florals. Stripes. Polka dots. You name it, I've seen, bought, and sent them all. So when it comes to birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, or just about any card-worthy occasion, I try and find ones that aren't so typical. (OK, truth be told, I hate sending the card that someone has already received -
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Cool Fix for Bare Walls
Figuring out what to hang on your walls makes for a big conundrum when you can't afford the art you crave. But I recently learned about one great solution: Recycled museum banners from BetterWall . These are the same beautiful banners that museums hang on city streetlights to advertise their latest exhibits, and this site recycles them by making them available to the public once the exhibits end. By purchasing one you get something to cover that naked stretch of wall in your dining room AND keep
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Let's Dish
I admit it: I'm a plate-aholic. No matter how much china and pottery I have, I still want more. It makes even the most casual night in with friends feel more festive. My latest find: these adorable plates from UncommonGoods.com . Their colorful and stylish striped pattern punches up my table and they're made of low-maintenance melamine material (you can just throw 'em in the dishwasher). But here's what really got me: The plates feature dessert recipes from up and coming chefs (all under age 8!).
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How do you measure a room for wallpaper?
Given Campbell, Custom Design Nestpert: The hard part about this question is that there are many ways to measure, it is not easy and everyone has their own method. You should really rely on the help of an installer. They do it for a living and understand all the small details about measuring. Have them measure twice to be sure. If you insist on doing it yourself, there are some tips. Measure the length of the walls in inches since most wallpaper widths are described in inches. If there is a window
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We live in a tiny one-bedroom apartment. What are some things we can do to make our space look (and feel) bigger?
You’re in luck. Try these 10 simple tips to trick the eye: 1. Paint with delicate hues. The lighter the color, the more open the space appears to be. 2. Use shades of the same color. Paint the walls, trim, and detailing in different shades of one color. "By using a monochromatic scheme," says Adam Janovic, former president of New York's Janovic Paints, "you'll make the room look more open." 3. Get perspective. Hanging pictures of expansive landscapes with vanishing perspective will trick the eye
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Carving Out Time
The best part about autumn is that it's prime pumpkin picking season. This weekend that was the prime to-do activity on our to-do list. Well, sort of! After devoting a good portion of the day hunting for the perfect pumpkin, I realized that I needed to kick it up a notch. In the past, I usually just set the orange guys out on the counter or on the front stoop, but this year I’m taking a more creative route. This weekend, I plan to carve at least one of the pumpkins. I picked up this fun pumpkin carving
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I have some great wallpaper scraps, what are some creative things I can do with the leftovers?
Given Campbell, Custom Design Nestpert: Leftover wallpaper scraps can be wonderful for other DIY projects. Depending of course on the size, you can use them for scrapbooking, dresser drawer liners, kitchen cabinet liners, gift wrap, or covering boxes for storage. Think about decoupaging small boxes for gifts as well. You can also cut out the motif (or parts of it) and apply those with glue to many things, even walls. Flowers for example can be applied sporadically around the walls of a room or inside
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Have you tried eco-friendly paint?
My walls are very much in need of a fresh coat, and I’ll definitely be using low-VOC paint. Conventional paint emits lots of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that pollute indoor air and have been linked to kidney and liver disease and even cancer. A “freshly painted” smell coming from walls is the scent of yucky chemicals being released (and they continue to off-gas for months and even years after the smell goes away!). So, since I’ve got a toddler and another kiddo on the way conventional paint
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