Master the Art of Picking Up Friends: How To Ask that Cool Person on a First (Friend) Date
Like getting out of bed without your knees cracking, making friends is something that gets tougher as you get older. But here’s the thing: Everybody’s out there looking for new friends. Yep, even that really cool, funny gal you met at the supermarket checkout. So how do you go from small talk about kale to your first friend date? It’s as easy as 1-2-3: One of you has got to plant the seed that it might be fun to meet outside of the checkout line.
Jul 21, 2016
Real Life Roommate Stories: When Best Friends Share a Home
Is living with your best friend awesome…or a nightmare that ends with no one speaking to each other? We spoke to Amy and Steph of Two Best Friends (& Two Adorable Dogs!) Share a Comfy Minneapolis Home and asked them to give us the dirt on what it’s like sharing a space with a best friend, as well as share any advice on how to stay friends! Steph: We met in 2006 because our siblings were dating. I actually lived with Amy’s sister first in college.
Jul 20, 2016
An “Airy & Chic” East Bay Apartment
Name: Celine Location: East Bay, California I am an Interior Designer and would like to share how I styled my small, sweet apartment. Our apartment is located East Bay, California and is 1250 square feet. The first time I walked through this apartment, I truly felt at peace and believed that we could do something special here. Our style is eclectic, airy and chic. My husband, who is from Africa, wanted to keep a breeze of Africa as well. I worked to create a space that feels like home to us.
Jul 20, 2016
5 Small Ways to Spice Up Your Salad
(Image credit: Faith Durand) From The Kitchn → 5 Small Ways to Make Your Salad More Interesting
Jul 20, 2016
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Magnolia Home: Joanna Gaines’s New Furniture Line in 6 Styles
</p><p> This fall, Joanna Gaines is bringing her eponymous collection of furniture and accessories to Value City Furniture. The inspiration for Magnolia Home by Joanna Gaines comes from Joanna’s love of Old World design that stands the test of time. The collection includes pieces for every room in a variety of fresh, unique design styles, but all unified by Joanna’s belief that “home is the most important place.
Jul 20, 2016
Before & After: A Spacious Living Room Gets an Entirely New Look
At Apartment Therapy, we talk a lot about dealing with small spaces, but larger spaces can also present their own unique design challenge. When one Brooklyn family moved into their dream home, the oversized living room proved to be a bit of a conundrum — so they turned to a designer for guidance. Before, the family’s furniture — a single sofa and a small dining table — was a bit lost in the expansive space.
Jul 19, 2016
“You’re Moving…Again?” Benefits of Being a Serial Mover
“You’re moving?! Again??” I get that a lot. And for good reason. Over the course of ten years in Seattle, I have lived in six different apartments. While that may sound like a nightmare to some people, I have been thoroughly excited to move every single time. And I enjoy every second of my time in each new place. But right around the one and a half year mark, something happens. I get a little itch.
Jul 19, 2016
5 Quick Meals Perfectly Portioned for Two
(Image credit: Leela Cyd) From The Kitchn → 5 Quick Meals for Couples Who Loathe Leftovers
Jul 19, 2016
Before & After: Decoupage Away the Drab
When I think about color and pattern in an outdoor space I usually think throw pillows or maybe the occasional funky patio umbrella. Claire decided that pattern need not be limited to textiles and accessories and got really creative with her weathered bench. From Claire: I had a neglected old bench in my garden, that was crying out for a revamp. Instead of just repainting, I decided to give it a designer makeover.
Jul 19, 2016
Color On the Rise
(Image credit: Dutch Boy) Style Starters: Color on the Rise
Jul 19, 2016
Awaiting Destruction, Wasn’t The Empty House Beautiful?
Welcome to The Stacked Barn project where I lead you through a year-long odyssey that I’ve never been on before: the building of a new house. I’m going to show you how my new home gets built – step by step. This is Chapter Two. The last picture I shared with you is just below. It shows my house nearly, completely gone and the four foot crawl space exposed. This pure and fast destruction took place over a few days in April.
Jul 19, 2016
A Sharp & Stylish San Francisco Studio
Name: Candida & Jeff Location: San Francisco, California My husband (Jeff) and I have lived in our tiny but ridiculously charming Apartment for around two years. We both wanted a home with charm, built in the 1920s and close to the ocean. We were looking at Studio and Jr one bedroom homes in San Francisco. I had actually been browsing Apartment Therapy to get inspo on how to decorate a small space, and saw a feature of a home that converted their walk in closet into a bedroom.
Jul 18, 2016
3D-Printed Home Decor Products You’ll Actually Want to Buy
The idea of 3D-printed products for the home is admittedly a little out there, even Jetsons-esque. The gadgets and gizmos a plenty on sale throughout the internet may run the gamut from completely bizarre to actually interesting (and normal), but no matter where they fall on the spectrum, something that came from a printer (that’s not a sheet of paper with words on it) is certainly a conversation starter. We rounded up a handful of things you might actually want to buy for your own home.
Jul 18, 2016
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Shades of Change: 3 Color Palettes for Growing Your Home
Preparing your home for children is one of the most exciting, stressful, scary, amazing and joyful times in life. That’s a lot of emotions to pack into that small spare room you’re converting into a nursery or playroom, and they’re all perfectly normal. Just don’t forget to have fun. We came up with three Glidden® playroom palettes that play off these emotions. They’re bright, beautiful and (most importantly) kid-proof.
Jul 18, 2016
10 Enviable Eggplant Colored Kitchens
(Image credit: Apartment Therapy) From The Kitchn → Purple Love: 10 Painted Kitchens That Get It On with Eggplant
Jul 18, 2016
Before & After: Big Dreams of Tiny Living
Even if a space isn’t your cup of tea, it’s exciting to hear about folks who had an ideal space in mind and made it happen. Sara and her husband did exactly that, turning a motorhome into their dream home. From Sara: My husband and I spent two months gutting and renovating a 1989 Safari Motorhome to be the tiny home of our dreams. We (my husband and I and our two kids) now live in it full time and are absolutely loving tiny living! Thank you, Sara!
Jul 17, 2016
Before & After: A Dark Master Bedroom Brightens Up
Amanda writes: “When we first bought the house, I painted our bedroom this deep, dark teal. I had rented so long, I just wanted to cover every surface with paint and wallpaper! While a pretty color, it made our room very depressing, dark, and cave-like.” When our contractor was taking out the walls and ceilings, we realized we had an awesome pitch to the ceiling. We decided to keep it lofty, and add a faux beam. This room is now so light and airy.
Jul 16, 2016
Before & After: A Sticker-Covered Cabinet Gets Sophisticated
If a cabinet can survive years of kid style wear and tear, you know you’ve got a sturdy piece of furniture on your hands. After removing any trace of Brontosauruses and sharks, Rosa set to work giving this old cabinet new life. From Rosa: This cabinet was purchased about 25 years ago in a thrift store to use in a child’s room. It was covered with stickers of animals, surfboards and all kinds of kid stuff.
Jul 16, 2016
Secrets to Effortless Style from Stunning Spanish Homes
Colorful patterned tile floors, tons of plants and gorgeous natural light—I have been in awe of the stunning Spanish homes we’ve featured on Apartment Therapy. They aren’t just inspiring to look at (and feel envious of), they hold secrets of decorating effortlessly—things you can incorporate into your own home (even if you don’t live in Spain). Some Spanish homes have jaw-dropping tiled floors in every room of the house.
Jul 15, 2016
16 Kitchens that Skipped the Reno and Embraced Vintage Vibes
The vintage kitchen features that came with your house or rental—old appliances, dated fixtures, interesting floor materials—aren’t always the choices you would have made if you had designed from scratch. But if you don’t have the money to renovate (or you rent and can’t) or don’t want to renovate, choose to work with your vintage features, not fight against them! These sixteen kitchens get it right.
Jul 15, 2016
A Colorful and Charming Montreal Craftsman
Name: Vanessa Location: Montréal-West — Québec, Canada Our home is a Craftsman style semi-detached brownstone built in 1926. The character and charm of the house’s architectural details are what sold us when we purchased it three years ago. The previous owners made us PROMISE that we would never paint over the woodwork or coffered ceilings as they were original features of the home.
Jul 15, 2016
Cooke = Biscuit and Other Words & Phrases to Know Before You Watch The Great British Baking Show
(Image credit: Courtesy of The Great British Bake Off) From The Kitchn → 20 Words and Phrases to Know Before You Watch The Great British Baking Show
Jul 15, 2016
The Minimalist’s Approach to Maximum Color: 10 Unexpected Spots to Add a Touch of Paint
There are two ways to work dramatic color into your home: Go for the whole wall, or use little splashes of color for a big effect. The latter takes much less time to achieve and is considerably cheaper (many of the ideas ahead call for just a sample pot of paint), yet it can still create an eye-catching display. The best part of painting a smaller area? It’s much easier to paint over if you change your mind or when it’s time to move out.
Jul 15, 2016
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10 Off-Campus Apartment Essentials — And a Giveaway!
Prize: Dining table and four matching chairs, sleeper sofa/futon, bed frame and mattress, side table, coffee table Value: $1,500 From: DHP With the school year just around the corner, many bright-eyed undergraduates are about to get a crash course in living off-campus and on their own. (Lesson 1: Pizza boxes cannot double as coffee tables.) Moving from the dorm to the apartment complex can be scary — meal plan, we hardly knew ye! — but a few versatile essentials will go a long way.
Jul 15, 2016
5 GIFs That Might Help You Figure Out What to Do With That Blank Wall
A blank wall can be an inspiring canvas waiting to painted with your style—or it can be a stop-you-in-your-tracks source of indecision. Let’s push past the wondering and see how various ideas work. Inside this post: the same empty wall filled with a variety of design elements, from paint to pattern to art and more. See how different decor choices affect the look and feel of a room.
Jul 14, 2016
European Style Meets Bohemian Chic in a London Apartment
While I love minimal, white-walled interiors with occasional bursts of color just as much as the next person, every once in a while it’s nice to spot something different — like this Little Venice apartment by Sera of London. It’s a little bit Bohemian, a little bit Miss Havisham, a little bit crumbly European chic, wholly different, and wholly refreshing.
Jul 14, 2016
5 Steps for Making the Most of Eggplant
(Image credit: raifu/shutterstock) From The Kitchn → 5 Ways to Fall in Love with Eggplant
Jul 14, 2016
A 2-Hour After-Work Clean Routine to Maximize Your Summer Fridays
Abbreviated summer hours are a great perk in any workplace; they offer you the chance to get out of the cubicle and kick off your weekend early to enjoy some of the great weather. Or—hear me out on this—you could take advantage of the extra free time on summer fridays to get a head start on housework.
Jul 13, 2016
Where We Create: A Look Inside Real Life Craft Rooms & Art Studios
You have to consider organization, tools, storage and work surfaces when designing your art studio, creative home office, or craft corner. But beyond just the practical are ineffable qualities that make rooms conducive for creativity. In this post: Gorgeous spaces with great ideas for sparking creativity and creating a space that functions for your craft. Fresh white walls, a big work surface in the center of the room and everything in its place (and place for everything).
Jul 13, 2016
Declutter (In a Big Way!) by Asking Yourself One Simple Question
I recently moved to a new place, and most of my things came with me. The moving process gave me a much-needed opportunity to survey the things I own and decide if I wanted to keep them and bring them to the new place, or find a new home for them (which, yeah, includes the trash can in a few instances). It was tough to decide what would stay and what would go, but one question helped me along the way: Imagine you’re in a store, holding the object in your hand.
Jul 13, 2016
A Homey Williamsburg “Sanctuary”
Name: Sunny Location: Williamsburg — Brooklyn, New York I moved into this apartment in 2009 with a roommate when I was 26, needless to say it has gone through MANY changes, from bad vintage furniture to a lace teepee in the middle of the living room, to finally, my little sanctuary that I call home. My husband and I share this modest 700 square foot, two bedroom apartment and I love coming home to it.
Jul 13, 2016
Before & After: Populating a Patio
First, let’s just take a moment to admire that view. Alright now we can talk about the patio. Silvia’s patio was the perfect blank canvas for some truly dramatic design, and she was totally up to the challenge. Check it out! From Silvia: A gorgeous new face for a old and slipshod terrace. It was totally refurbished with wall paint, wood decking, two dark gray panels (Pircher) and a modern Gandia Blasco outdoor set. Thank you, Silvia!
Jul 13, 2016
Yes, Concrete in the Kitchen Can Be Gorgeous (and Pink!)
Concrete might seem like an unusual choice for your kitchen, but given the right setting, its rustic, textured look can set just the right tone. Or it can be pink. Alex McCabe, co-founder of beloved Aussie brand Kip&Co, has a kitchen in her Melbourne home that’s as fun as her company’s bedding. Not only does it have glamorous brass cabinets and a standout quartzite backsplash, the island is pink concrete!
Jul 12, 2016
25 Dinner- Worthy Salads
(Image credit: Michaela Cisney) From The Kitchn → 25 Ways to Eat Salad for Dinner Tonight
Jul 12, 2016
An Empty Balcony Turned “Calm and Peaceful Corner”
Name: Sidra Location: Drogheda — County Louth, Ireland My balcony was the absolute emptiest space of my apartment. Since it is uncovered it was used for basically nothing. When I decided to turn it into a garden, I wanted to create a calm and peaceful corner for myself where I could enjoy a book in the afternoon or a cup of tea in the evening. I wanted my garden to have an organic, relaxed vibe. So I naturally gravitated towards the Zen style of garden.
Jul 12, 2016
7 French Fridge Essentials
(Image credit: Apartment Therapy) From The Kitchn → 7 Things Nearly Every French Cook Has in Her Fridge
Jul 12, 2016
A Bright & Beautiful Forever Home
Name: Tracey and Ruben Location: Loganville, Georgia Our 1,600 square foot apartment was featured as a House Call two years ago. In May of this year we purchased a 2,900 square foot home, our forever home, and we didn’t buy a thing! Not one piece of furniture. The only thing we’ve had to purchase are window treatments. Our new home has a ton of windows and a lot of natural light and we love it!
Jul 11, 2016
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Shades of Change: 3 Color Palettes for Setting Up a Living Room
There’s nothing like the rush of finding your first-love home — the one where you can be yourself, make your own rules, and pick your own paint colors. Or maybe you’re lucky enough to have found your forever home — the one where all those pinboards can finally go from inspiration to installation.
Jul 11, 2016
A Warm & Personal Apartment on a Man-Made Island
Name: Farida Location: IJburg — Amsterdam, Netherlands I live on the man-made island of IJburg, developed on reclaimed land in the former lake IJmeer. There is one bridge connecting IJburg to the rest of Amsterdam. The first residents moved to the neighborhood in 2002. I moved here in 2005, to a newly built apartment (900 square feet). I love living here because of the modern architecture, proximity to the lake and back in 2005 it was affordable to buy an apartment.
Jul 9, 2016
Before & After: A Thrifty & Whimsical Bookshelf Makeover
When bookshelves are in OK shape, it can be so tempting to leave them as is. After all, you’re just going to cover them with with books and tchotchkes, right? Sahana had to go and overachieve by putting curtains AND wallpaper on her total steal of a bookshelf duo. From Sahana: We recently moved from New York to North Carolina. While we were hunting for some furniture, we got an awesome deal of two bookshelves for $20.
Jul 9, 2016
Calling All Renters: Easy & Reversible Ways to Add Style to Your Bathroom (This Weekend!)
Rental bathrooms are notoriously plagued by ugly (or just plain dated) design decisions. The good news is, there are some simple, reversible ways to cover up what you hate most about this room and add your own style to the space. Introducing color and pattern where you can, and choosing attractive storage lets you put your own touch on a temporary home. It may sound obvious, but in a small rental bathroom, the shower curtain is the first thing you should switch out.
Jul 8, 2016
Before & After: A Truly Amazing Tile Turnaround
It’s kind of hard to believe that this is the same bathroom and even harder to believe that this was a DIY project without any major renovating. Lauren’s paint game is truly next level. From Lauren: I am so excited to share this DIY labor of love. We moved into our house in upstate New York seven months ago. After spending all our money on the bones, we had pocket change left for changes and renovations. Luckily, I was happy with almost everything, except the first floor bath.
Jul 8, 2016
An Abundance of Art in an Italian Apartment
Name: Veronica Location: Vicenza, Italy Hi! I’m Veronica! I’ve lived with my husband Giuseppe and our cat Spulcy in our rented apartment for almost ten years. Our home is located in the heart of Vicenza, a city in Palladio in the north of Italy. I’m a designer in an artisanal leather factory and a visual artist. Giuseppe is a teacher of graphic design and an artist as well. Our style is eclectic, a little boho, and we love to customize our furniture and walls.
Jul 8, 2016
25 Creatives Share Their Go-To Pints of Ice Cream
(Image credit: Samantha Bolton) From The Kitchn → 25 Creative People Share Their Favorite Pints of Ice Cream
Jul 8, 2016
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5 Ways to Bring Home the Beach: City-Meets-Sea Bedroom Blues
You know that pair of jeans you pack on every beach trip that are so well worn it’s like they were custom-made for your fit? Or that tissue-thin T-shirt that’s so soft it’s the only thing you can wear when you’re sunburned? What you want from your most comfortable clothes isn’t so different from what you want in a bed. For a room that feels so relaxed it’s like you’re on vacation 365 days a year, try these 5 tips.
Jul 8, 2016
7 Great Grilling Tips
(Image credit: Wanchai/Shutterstock) From The Kitchn → 7 Tips That Will Help You Grill Like a Pro
Jul 8, 2016
This Tiny Swedish Studio is Everything You Could Want in an Apartment
Even though I now have the tiny, perfect apartment of my dreams, I haven’t stopped being fascinated with other people’s tiny, perfect apartments. And I’m particularly drawn to this apartment in Stockholm, which despite measuring only 193 square feet manages to be everything you want an apartment to be: airy, stylish, cozy, comfortable.
Jul 7, 2016