Decor & Accessories

Name: Natalie and KevinLocation: Parkdale, Toronto, CanadaSize: Approx. 1500 square feetYears lived in: 9 months; Rented When searching for a new place to call home, Natalie and Kevin never dreamed they could find such a spacious, bright, and charming place within their budget in the city. Nine months after moving in, Natalie is still pinching herself.

Name: Jennifer LaskeyLocation: Windsor Square / Hancock Park, Los Angeles, CASize: 1,000 square feetYears Lived In: 11 months Bette Davis, Marion Davies, Mae West, Ava Gardner, Douglas Fairbanks, Clara Bow, William Randolph Hearst…a who’s who of Hollywood royalty that once called the historic Los Altos apartments “home”. Now the tony address is home to events planner and vintage design specialist, Jennifer Laskey and her feline sidekick, Capone.

Name: Sara, Blogger and Real Estate ConsultantLocation: Dupont Circle, Washington D.CSize: 718 square feetYears lived in: 2 years; OwnedWhen you have a blog that focuses on how to achieve high fashion at a bargain, there is a good chance your home will reflect that same sensibility. Blogger Sara’s home radiates world charm, luxury, and her keen ability to mix her taste in high-quality vintage pieces with great low-price steals from her favorite bargain shop, Home Goods, and D.

Thinking of “fourteen hundred hours” as 2 o’clock will take some getting used to, but there’s one really good reason to switch your cell phone to military time: You’ll never make an afternoon alarm mistake ever again.Have you ever woken up late one morning to find your 6 a.m. cell phone alarm was actually set to go off at 6 p.m. that night? It’s an easy (and far too common) mistake to make.

Name: Callen & Eli Location: Austin, Texas Size: 800 sq ft, open floorplan Years lived in: 2 months Art can be therapeutic and transformative. You realize that shortly after stepping into Callen and Eli’s delightful studio space. The cheery open floorplan among the trees is filled with vintage treasures, handmade objects, and a very agreeable sense of relaxation. It’s art therapy done right.Callen has always possessed a connection to the arts.

Name: Elizabeth DuvivierLocation: Providence, Rhode IslandSize: 1,200 square feetYears lived in: 5 months — rented Elizabeth’s 2-bedroom apartment embodies all the those ephemeral qualities that transform an empty shell of space into a real home — it’s artful, personal, comfortable and above all, designed for actually living.

Name: KirstynLocation: Pacific Heights — San Francisco, CaliforniaSize: 700 square feetYears lived in: 2 — rented Kirstyn’s apartment is the quintessential San Francisco home, chock full of the impeccable architectural details we go crazy for. Each element, from the built-ins, to the molding, to the hardware, has been restored and finished with care.

Name: Steve Reidell and Stacey MarquardtLocation: Humboldt Park — Chicago, IllinoisSize: 1200 square feetYears lived in: 3 — rented At the risk of sounding creepy, I am enamored with Steve and Stacey and their amazing style. Not only do they both have cool jobs, theyalso live in this fabulously decorated vintage apartment. Plus, Stacey is a DIY Queen — a girl after my own heart! What is not to love?! Steve is a DJ and the man behind The Hood Internet.

Name: Drew SteinbrecherLocation: Cincinnati, OhioSize: 1060 square feetYears lived in: 7 Drew is a modern design “Renaissance Man”. He can knit, he can sew, he can quilt, he can take photos, he can thrift with the best of them, he’s a graphic designer, an Etsy shop owner and an entrepreneur. Whew. Oh, yeah, and his apartment is amazing.

Name: Samer FawazLocation: Los Angeles, CaliforniaSize: 1100 square feetYears lived in: 1 1/2 years When you walk into Samer’s home you sense you are someplace special; someplace that has an interesting history. The building was originally built for actor Jack Haley, aka the Tin Man in “The Wizard of Oz.” Over the years it was home to many models, rock stars and writers. In the summer of 1960, the penthouse had its most notable resident – Senator John F. Kennedy.

This project was completed by some regular readers from Seattle: “In March 2010, I came upon the ever-popular Penny Tile floor post on your site. At the time, we were in the process of renovating our 1950s rambler and I was unsuccessful in finding a contractor to complete a concrete overlay (thin-set concrete) design on our master bathroom floor.

Name: Kathryn Bentley & David ScheidLocation: Echo Park – Los Angeles, CaliforniaSize: 800 square feetYears lived in: 2 years Craftsman love! Every time Kathryn and David start the search for a new apartment with more space, they are reminded how lucky they are to live in a space with the original architectural details beautifully restored.

Name: Ryan ZagoneLocation: Georgetown — Washington, DCSize: 330 square feetYears lived in: 1.5 — Rented In a leafy corner of Georgetown that is also a quick walk to Dupont Circle, Ryan has made a studio apartment into an efficient home. He has drawn on some of the District’s best resources for vintage and antiques while adding contemporary pieces and travel finds. The result is distinctly masculine and simultaneously rustic and refined.

After years of perusing FLOR’s catalog and website, I finally bit the bullet and ordered the carpet tiles for my entryway and kitchen. The Problem: I have gone through about five different rugs in my entryway. With one pitiful rug pad and two overly-welcoming dogs that rush the front door every time they hear a noise — I was forever straightening, fixing and flattening the front rug.

Name: Sarah, Craig, and son, Maceo Location: Jamaica Plain — Boston, MASize: 1099 square feetYears lived in: 8 — own It’s fun enough to be around one homeowner who beams with delight and pride for her home. But when it’s a couple and it’s apparent that they equally love their home and they genuinely share an aesthetic without much need for compromise, it’s even sweeter. Such is the case at Sarah and Craig’s delightful treetop home.

Name: Anna Bautista & AJ CalomayLocation: West LA/T-Lofts &mdash Los Angeles,CASize: 1,000 square feetYears lived in: 1 year — Own Anna and AJ have are the first residents in this brand new loft apartment. They have taken on the task of giving it a full makeover with new decor and furnishings, and the brains behind the operation is the interior design duo of Natalie Younger and Sayre Ziskin.

The other day we looked at a bunch of rooms that went unexpectedly without rugs or carpets, embracing a relaxed bare-floor look. Today let’s go in the opposite direction: what does it look like when one rug just isn’t enough. The most common look for layering rugs seems to be an animal hide (faux or no) over a sisal — this is probably the most neutral option. Other examples mix patterns and colors, sometimes creating a bohemian wonderland of textiles.

Name: Savannah Farris-GilbertLocation:West Hollywood — Los Angeles, CaliforniaSize: Studio apartment Years lived in: 1 — rent Savannah, a Graduate student in the Architecture-Interior Design program at UCLA is perfecting her love of Interior Decorating. I think it must be a craft she honed in on very early — as she told me her mother often helps her hunt for new pieces for her apartment.

Name: Hali & Philip DurhamProfession: Architect – www.studiodurham.comLocation: Soulard — St. Louis, MOSize: overall building 9,600 square feet, Residence 5,400 square feetYears lived in: 7 — owned It never hurts to be an award-winning architect. Most people in Saint Louis pass decrepit warehouses for years, writing them off as mere evidence of urban blight.

A girlfriend of mine recently referred to her “fat mirror” (one that made her look wider and shorter) and her “skinny mirror” (one that elongated her frame). Is this a red flag for some major body image dysmorphia or is she on to something? For me, buying a mirror has always been about its frame and its shape. It never occurred to me that some mirrored reflections could be more accurate than others. And, really, who cares? What matters is what is on the inside, right?

Name: Annie and PaulLocation: Upper West Side — New York, New YorkSize: 390 square feet — 1 bedroom Years lived in: 2½ — rented “We both roll with the same taste,” explain Annie and Paul when I ask if it was hard to design their first home together. Architects who met while learning their trade, Annie and Paul had each lived, previously, with roommates whose priorities diverged from home making.

We spent a fair chunk of Labor Day weekend lazily stretched out on picnic blankets, engaged in imaginative cloud gazing with our son. There’s a hedgehog, a Lego guy, a banana. But yesterday we were in the mood for some more, and not a single patch of condensed water vapor to be seen. So we did the next best thing – we fashioned our own to hang indoors. They took literally minutes to put together, and the effect was surprisingly transporting.

This entry comes to you courtesy of the fact that I’ve heard this maybe-myth told to me more than once in the past few weeks my friends and complete strangers alike. My car’s keyless entry remote, for lack of a better word, sucks. I practically have to be next to the car to get it to work. Alas, plenty of the aforementioned people have given me the tip to hold the remote to my chin with my mouth slightly open to increase the range of the remote signal.