News

At first glance, Jacob Witzling’s tiny truck cabin makes you think of what the Weasley’s wonky home (aka the ever-chaotic Burrow) would look like if the wizards shrunk their family residence, then hauled it around on the back of an old pickup. (Honestly, Witzling’s tiny design still looks that way after staring at it for a bit longer.

Wouldn’t watching videos of adorable baby sea animals be so much more comforting if you were curled up on a sustainable sofa that was made from over 100 recycled plastic bottles? Enter: Lovesac’s new sofas, called “Sactionals”. Known for their eponymous next-level bean bags, Lovesac’s new modular sectionals look more like traditional upholstered couches that can be arranged and rearranged from one configuration to another in minutes.

With a new year comes the opportunity for a new start, including a fresh coat of paint for your living spaces. But with so many color swatches to choose from, HGTV HOME By Sherwin-Williams just made your life a lot easier with their 2019 Color of the Year unveil. The winner is Reflecting Pool (SW6486), a hue of “many personalities” that communicates “a life of balance with a little bit of flair” with its versatility and adaptive skills.

There is undeniable mixed feelings about Starbucks opening its first store in Italy, where cafes serve their espresso much differently than the American coffee company. But it is obvious that the new Roastery in Milan—which opened last week—is different from its sibling stores in the U.S. All you have to do is look at the design.

Backyard sheds are all the rage right now. They provide convenience for homeowners who have hobbies, but don’t have the square footage to bring their vision to life indoors. For avid readers, the image of a perfect home includes an elaborate library; fully stocked with first edition novels and a rolling ladder for easy access.

Every kitchen needs a KitchenAid mixer. Yes, they are a bit pricey and take up a decent amount of space, but they are so versatile. You can make cakes, cookies, pies, dough, and so much more using your mixer, especially if you get the KitchenAid attachments. Not only can you get a lot done with this mixer, it really stands the test of time. People can have their mixers for decades, as long as they take good care of them. KitchenAid is celebrating a big anniversary in 2019.

Plus, smart tips for making the most of these often sterile spaces.

If dogs could talk, they might surprise us with their home improvement requests, like a space that reduces their carbon footprint and ultimately helps save the planet. Or…they might ask for more treats or a comfier bed. (That probably sounds more realistic, yes?) Either way, pet owners can now make a positive environmental impact while also making their dog comfortable and happy.

September 1st means one thing and one thing only: summer is over. Sure, Labor Day hasn’t officially happened yet, but the weekend before Labor Day feels like the worst Sunday of the year. You spend the whole weekend knowing that summer is over and it is time for fall. But, for those of us who love fall and winter, this is a time to celebrate. Some people are already buying their Halloween decorations and candy even though the holiday is about 60 days away.

Tiny house enthusiasts should be more than willing to take a gander at Tiny Heirloom’s latest compact custom home. The stylish dwelling known as the Goose is the latest in the brand’s non-custom Signature Series. Constructed on a gooseneck trailer, the Goose comes equipped with off-the-grid technology and is available in three different versions that range from 31 feet to 37 feet long and measure 8 feet wide and 13.6 feet in height.

Good news for farmhouse style fans: Chip and Joanna Gaines’ latest collection of Hearth & Hand with Magnolia is hitting Target stores this weekend. We have your exclusive sneak peek at everything new, plus tips from Joanna, below. There are over 50 pieces in the new collection, with prices ranging from $3.99 for a kitchen towel to $55.99 for a pouf, with most under $25.

For a comprehensive reminder of just how wonderfully left field Snarkitecture has gone with its designs since its inception a decade ago, you’ll definitely want to check out the New York-based studio’s Fun House exhibit at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.

We still have a long way to go with prioritizing accessibility for people with disabilities. On the bright side, there are extraordinarily inventive minds like industrial designer Nour Malaeb, who is working to amend this widespread issue with projects like Relay, a fully customizable, voice-activated, table-ottoman combo. Malaeb came up with the idea after observing his best friend with muscular dystrophy struggle to maneuver with tasks around the house during the their days as roommates.

More and more, it’s becoming increasingly normal to hear stories of people learning to acclimate themselves to living in seriously small apartments. Cities are practically bursting at the seams so for many metropolitan dwellers, creatively maximizing a small living space has quickly become a modern-day survival tactic.

Le Koroc is a floating paradise designed for enjoying summer lake life in Canada with minimal impact on the environment—handcrafted from the ground up (or pontoon base up, anyway) to help its owner “explore nature differently” with a solar-powered, off-grid vessel that’s half fishing boat and half luxury tiny house. Crafted entirely by hand by a Canadian woodworker on a pontoon base, this is a tiny home for the lake-lover in all of us.

Belgian company BuzziSpace teamed up with American designer Cory Grosser to create a nature-inspired solution to noise reduction. Trying to soundproof your space so that it’s completely devoid of noise can be rather tricky, but outside-the-box thinking led Cory Grosser + Associates to using preserved reindeer moss as a main material for his series of geometric framed wall panels.

If you’ve ever seen furniture designed by Rick Owens, then you can already picture the interior of his Venice penthouse. The fashion designer began creating pieces for the home in 2007 with his wife, Michèle Lamy. MR PORTER recently toured their Italian home, the first public feature of the space. Indeed, you’ll see quite a bit of his brutalist designs around the space, peppered with the occasional antique, like a set of Eliel Saarinen high-backed chairs.

When the thought of a wooden retreat comes to mind, it immediately accompanies images of solitude and a discrete place that blends in with its surroundings. However, this modern tiny house in upstate New York meets at least half of those criteria due to its bold structure that allows it to stand out against a natural backdrop.

From their iconic Bean Boots to their once-famous lifetime guarantee return policy, LL Bean has been synonymous with outdoorsy lifestyle goals for more than 100 years. So—while Amazon recently tried—if anyone was going to truly bring the outdoors into the office by creating the first ever outdoor coworking space, of course it was going to be one of America’s favorite recreation brands.

IKEA has been at the peak of their collab game lately, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that they have another batch of design goodies up their sleeve. This time around, the retailer has announced their new social entrepreneurship collection, TILLTALANDE, which coincides with World Refugee Day (June 20).

This week marked IKEA’s Democratic Design Days, the event where the Swedish retailer announces its upcoming collaborations. At the end of the day on Thursday, the company dropped that they’ll be working with Saint Heron, the multidisciplinary cultural hub founded by none other than Solange Knowles.

My husband has a seriously convenient knack for putting together IKEA furniture. Seriously, sometimes I (half) jokingly suggest he start side hustling as a TaskRabbit for a little extra income. But the thing is that he actually enjoys it—and when I ask him why he says it’s like building LEGOs for grownups. Well, now he might actually be able to build an IKEA LEGO, or something like it.

If you’re anything like me, your Instagram feed over Memorial Day Weekend was filled with FOMO-inducing photos of friends camping out in nature’s splendor across the country—whether shot from the rear windows of a camper van or RV or from within the confines of a glamping resort. ‘Tis the season to rusticate and sleep under the stars, and these tiny glamping pods are the new objet d’envy.

If you’ve found yourself gravitating towards colors reminiscent of outdoorsy vacations this year, you’re not alone. In their first ever social media study, the Pantone Color Institute quantified our collective wanderlust with the four most popular colors of 2018. In the 2018 Colors of Travel study, conducted by HireInfluence, Pantone analyzed a mix of outdoor adventure and lifestyle travel photos with high engagement from dozens of the top travel influencers in the U.S.

Here to help you make the most out of your mobile lifestyle is Santa, Barbara, California-based startup Living Vehicle, an all-aluminum towable trailer. At 212 square feet, the tiny space provides enough leg and sleeping room for six people, plus it’s pet-friendly and comes with a lithium ion-powered solar system that allows it to go completely off-the-grid.

Tiny things are cute, right? Puppies, kittens, even babies. When something is little, we all can’t help but coo at it. Just look at how people react to micro pigs! We all squeal. Well, this doesn’t just apply to animals and tiny humans. Apparently, even decor can get the micro treatment and look even better. Nothing stinks more than trying to decorate your space, but you don’t really have any space to decorate.

A quick scroll of Instagram can confirm whether you’re on or off trend, and apparently that includes sussing out the top cities for interior design. Joybird did some extensive hashtag research to compile all of the metropolitan areas in the U.S. that are currently sitting feng shui-perfect and pretty at the top of their style game.

The multifunctional built-ins are just the beginning.

When we think of storage, it’s usually about hiding our belongings from view. But not everything is meant to be stashed away and out of sight. IKEA’s latest limited edition collection is about showing off your stuff and putting your unique style on display. IKEA teamed up with Los Angeles based fashion designer Chris Stamp of Stampd to create SPÄNST. The collection embodies what it means to organize and display our favorite and most prized possessions.

The latest tiny dwelling from New Frontier Tiny Homes just might inspire you to downsize – and write a few best-selling books in the process. Named the Cornelia after internationally renowned children’s author Cornelia Funke, the tiny house serves a three-in-one purpose as a writing studio, guest house and library. In addition to being comfortable and cozy, the Cornelia also features luxe design elements and amenities, a staple of New Frontier’s tiny homes.

Popular women’s co-working space, The Wing, has officially begun its (highly anticipated) seven-city expansion. The first stop? The historic Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. As a former place of residence for the co-founders, D.C. made a natural fit as the first new location outside New York City limits. “I’ve lived here in D.C.

The brightly hued building blocks from our childhood famously known as LEGOs have inspired many a design, from bridges to storage options and even accessories for real-life homes. So it’s not at all shocking to see that this collection of modular plastic blocks from Everblock is perfectly suitable for a grownup’s decorative aesthetic. Now, whether you choose to transform these blocks into a stunning bookshelf, a table or even a customized room divider is totally up to you.

You know you’re completely satisfied with your humble abode when you drop stacks of cash to have someone create a miniature replica of your house. Apparently, these tiny examples of non-kid-friendly, grown-up decor are perfect to display alongside your other pricey trinkets that are presumably placed out of the reach of tiny, toy-seeking hands. According to Bloomberg, these small scale models have become popular thanks to companies like U.K.-based model maker, Chisel & Mouse.

One of the world’s most famous houses – and arguably the world’s most famous modern home – has just gotten a major makeover. Los Angeles’ iconic Stahl House (also known as Case Study House No. 22) with its cantilevered structure, and its sweeping, unobstructed views of Los Angeles was an architectural and engineering feat when it was originally built in 1960 by architect Pierre Koenig.

These “truly lovely” yet teeny tiny modular units made from shipping containers, currently sitting on Copenhagen’s harbor front, just might be what the future of sustainable, affordable housing looks like — for students and other young people.

So you’ve finally booked that trip to the ethereal island of Iceland. A quick perusal of a “things to do” list lets you know that the otherworldly Nordic country is jam-packed with geological wonders that you certainly don’t want to miss.

The color experts at Pantone are always looking ahead to what will be on trend in the future. While 2018’s Color of the Year, Ultra Violet, still holds its reign, that hasn’t stopped the institute from predicting what we’ll see more of in 2019 already. Check out what’s on the horizon for next year, according to Pantone.

The gulf in sound and aesthetics between an electric keyboard and a grand (or even upright) piano can seem wide and insurmountable to many a piano enthusiast. This new collaboration between Roland and Karimoku offers up not only an upgrade in keyboard technology, but a sleek new look minimalist look. The Roland Kiyola electric piano is available stateside for the first time at the MoMA Design store.

I love maps. Our walls are littered with them; even our shower curtain was a world map for awhile. And one of my favorite pastimes as a kid was dreaming up and then mapping imaginary countries, inspired by the fictitious atlases in books like The Phantom Tollbooth and The Hobbit. So when my wife and I discovered “Jerry’s Map” at the American Folk Art Museum in New York City last month, I was giddy.

As small space living gets more and more popular, the tiny houses and micro homes have become sleeker, smarter and well, taller. This skinny micro home was designed by Dutch firm Ana Rocha Architecture and was given the extra appropriate name, The Slim Fit. It looks sort of like a sexy Lincoln Log and offers 538 square feet of living space, spread out across three floors. The exterior is covered Ayous hardwood, which was laid out vertically emphasizing the length of the building.

Becoming one with nature is the supporting theme behind COULSON’s “Disappear Retreat,” a sustainable structure that completely blends in with its surrounding environment. Constructed to withstand extremely cold climate locations like Chicago, Seattle, Buffalo and Calgary, the tiny structure’s harmonious design is highlighted by various eco-friendly elements that ensure its living footprint remains at “zero energy, zero waste, zero water.

Generally speaking, when building in a small space, something always has to give — and in an populated area, most often the “give” is in sacrificing outdoor spaces, especially gardens. But one Beijing- and Austria-based design duo has found a genius solution in the plans for this “Yin & Yang House” currently being built in central Germany.

This week, domestic doyenne and Hamptons entertaining heroine Ina Garten shared her latest home decor acquisition on Instagram, but the reception wasn’t nearly as warm and inviting as her famous kitchen. The contemporary art piece from a French antiques dealer is getting seriously mixed reviews — including from many who wondered: Where was Geoffrey on this?

Designers continue to push the creative parameters of tiny houses. The most recent examples of their ingenuity come courtesy of the winners of Ryterna Modul’s Architectural Challenge 2018. The competition invited the participants to create a tiny house no bigger than 269 square feet, complete with a kitchen, sleeping and living areas and a bathroom. The other rule is that designs must have zero impact on the environment.

For anyone who was sad to see the final Oh Joy for Target decor collection released this past fall, we have some good news. As it turns out, the whimsical patterns and colors aren’t totally gone from Target stores, they’re just in a new (disposable) form. On Sunday, Oh Joy! For Cheeky launched online and in select Target stores. The line of disposable plates, bowls, and cups come in a variety of prints perfect for spring, summer, and beyond. “I love celebrations.

Forget the splinter-prone two-by-fours and rusty nail playgrounds of your elementary school years. The children of tomorrow are getting something a little bit more colorful. British architectural office Alma-nac is set to create The Upside Down House in Green Park Village, located in the city of Reading, England.

We’ve already shown that we’d rather share homes and rides and bicycles, and we’d rather rent, borrow, or swap clothes and books and food and even pets than own them outright — just to name a few areas of life that have been “disrupted” by the “sharing economy.

The IKEA Home Squad is back and ready to makeover some spaces. For the fourth season of their home tour YouTube series, the Swedish retailer sent a team of employees to help customers with projects, and if you love a good before and after, you’ll want to tune in. If you didn’t know the retail giant had a home show, allow us to catch you up: a team of IKEA experts hits the road to help people solve real home furnishing challenges, big and small, and transform their living spaces.

How many unique chair designs can you come up with? That’s a question we’d love to ask designer Joyce Lin because we’re currently obsessing over her super creative chair designs. A graduate of Rhode Island School of Design and Brown University, Lin’s signature chairs are imaginative enough to spruce up any living space. The San Francisco-based designer works with a variety of mediums, including clay, foam, metal, paint, plaster, vinyl and wood.

It’s no surprise that people love tiny things. The Japanese art of origami is objectively already tiny, where square sheets of paper get folded into palm-sized cranes, boats, cups, and other items. But one artist is taking the form to a whole new (miniscule) level.

Boho babes, rejoice: Target’s newest in-house home decor brand, Opalhouse, launches next week, and we have your first look at all the amazingly colorful pieces you’re going to want to snatch up. The bullseye announced the new brand back in February on their corporate blog .

Taking energy efficiency to the next level appears to be the goal of this “energy positive” hotel that’s set to be constructed within the Arctic Circle. Design firm Snøhetta teamed up with a few other Norwegian companies to create a vision for the hotel that’s energetic output will surpass the resources it consumes over the span of its 60-year lifetime.

Big news, Disney fans: now you can deck out your whole house, courtesy of the mouse. That’s right, a new store dedicated exclusively to housewares has opened at Disneyland in Southern California. Located in the Downtown Disney District, Disney Home sells (you guessed it) Disney-themed home goods from glassware to linens, kitchen accessories and more, according to a Disney Parks blog post about the opening. The curated assortment will also change seasonally.

While the end of Fixer Upper may have dashed our dreams of getting our very own shiplap makeover courtesy of Chip and Joanna, their collection with Target has been one way we can emulate the duo’s farmhouse chic aesthetic. Their collaboration with Target was first announced in September of last year, and this is the second time the line has undergone a “refresh” with seasonally-pegged items.

Amsterdam has a distinctive architecture style, but we can guarantee that this giant crane-turned-residence sticks out among the city’s livable structures – in a good way. Typically, old construction equipment and luxury don’t go hand in hand, but that’s the best way to describe this unique spot.

It’s a sad day for L.L. Bean devotees. We’re crying into our Bean boots, because the Maine-based retailer has gotten rid of its legendary lifetime return policy. The generous return policy meant that even if the same backpack you had from middle school got a rip, you could exchange it for a new one. That all changed Friday morning when the company posted a letter to customers explaining the update.

It’s been a year and a half since IKEA and Tom Dixon first announced their upcoming collaboration. In those 18 months, we’ve learned that the “platform for living” is called DELAKTIG, and is a sofa-slash-bed that is endlessly hackable. Now, the British designer has released even more details about the line—including some of the “add-ons” that will be available. At its most basic, DELAKTIG is an aluminum platform that serves as a single bed.

As IKEA celebrates the 50th anniversary of making raw, simple wood shelving go mainstream with the 1968 introduction of the IVAR series, it’s time to take a deeper look at the design history of the nearly-ubiquitous shelving and cabinets. Once solely relegated to workshops and garages, at least one piece of unfinished furniture can now be found in nearly every home around the world — and on every DIYer’s supplies lists.

We’ve always thought small was cool, but we’re glad to see that major retailers are getting the memo. Now Pottery Barn is betting on smaller spaces in a big way with their new brand, PB Apartment. It was big news when the major retailer debuted their first small spaces line in 2017, especially since it almost became synonymous with decor for big, suburban houses in the ’90s and 2000s.

The ocean has a well-deserved reputation as an instant mood calmer, so it’s no surprise that these ethereal glass and concrete sea sculptures by artist Ben Young have us feeling especially centered and relaxed. Young used bronze, concrete and laminated float glass to create the hand-cut pieces, which look like super realistic three-dimensional ocean topography diagrams. Each sculpture offers a unique perspective of the water’s surface as well as features of the ocean floor.

Thinking of a lame excuse for skipping out on church will soon become a little more challenging, at least for worshippers in London. When a floating church hits the city’s canals, there’ll be no reason to blame a traffic jam for a missed Sunday sermon because the structure will literally move about the water from location to location, making the services easily accessible to more citizens.

In these unpredictable times, Pantone delivered at least one certainty we can hold onto for 2018: their much-anticipated Color of the Year. And like it or not, the pick is Ultra Violet—an intense, bold shade of purple. At face value, the choice might seem like merely a design one that will influence everything from throw pillows to bridesmaid dresses in the coming year. But over time, these selections have come to take on a bit of a deeper meaning.

On Thursday, Pantone announced Ultra Violet as the Color of the Year 2018, and publications, brands, and people from across the globe have since taken to the internet to share their opinions on the new reigning hue. Colors are so steeped in personal preference, that it’s no surprise that—like every year—there are the people that love it and the people that don’t.

It’s December, and the holiday season is officially here. But for color lovers, today is a holiday in and of itself: the day Pantone announces their Color of the Year for 2018. In 2017, they went for a bright, leafy hue called Greenery. For their tenth anniversary pick, will they go bold, or return to a softer hue? Let’s find out: The 2018 Pantone Color of the Year is Ultra Violet!

You never know when color inspiration will strike—and we can pretty much guarantee it won’t happen while you’re nervously sweating, staring down the paint chips in your local hardware store. Thankfully, there’s a new app, Swatches, that turns the gorgeous rainbow-filled world around you into your own personal color catalog.

Here’s a real estate reprieve for homeowners who’ve been to hell and back with foundation problems: an unfolding modular house. Italian architect Renato Vidal partnered with Area Legno to manufacture “M.A.DI,” a tiny home that makes putting down your roots infinitely easier. For starters, the small, eco-friendly modular homes can be temporarily erected without a foundation, but a screw pile anchoring system can be utilized if needed.

Los Angeles-based designer Sarah Sherman Samuel— famous for her airy, California-cool style—has announced two brand new exciting collaborations for the kitchen. Add these to Joy Cho’s recent collaborative creation of playful pastel cement tiles with clé and you’ll want to renovate your kitchen… well, basically yesterday. First up, Samuel has teamed with popular cabinet door maker Semihandmade.

If 2017 left you feeling like your life got flipped turned upside down, then you wouldn’t be the only one. And there’s a new (whimsical?) holiday trend to support the state of affairs, and we have Karl Lagerfeld to thank/blame. On Wednesday, Claridge’s unveiled their annual Christmas tree, a tradition which hospitality site The Caterer calls “one of the highlights of the London hotel festive season”, and this year, it’s… upside down.

A lot of attention has been paid lately to the increasingly competitive mattress industry, and the growing lack of transparency for consumers, but it turns out that we should be just as concerned about what covers our mattresses. Two recent studies show that an overwhelming majority of fabric labels on our sheet sets have been faked.

What do you think of that wallpaper pattern? It’s got a fun ’70s vibe going on, kicky color combo, oh, and it’s made of bacteria. A team of scientists from Imperial College London, the University of Cambridge, and Central Saint Martins have developed a way to print bacteria (the good kind) on to paper, and here’s how it could benefit your home.

Part of adulting is encountering the urge to pack up a few belongings, abandon all of your responsibilities and set off toward No Man’s Land to live in a self-imposed state of hermithood. We’ve all had that thought at one point or another, but plotting an escape of that magnitude isn’t as simple as it sounds. Luckily, there’s now a “living vehicle” that can support several weeks’ worth of off-the-grid living.

Have you ever felt like the exercise of replacing the fitted sheet on your bed should be an Olympic sport? One innovative new company in New York feels your pain and wants to arm you with better equipment: a sheet set that’s more like a layered ski shell than your standard bedding. Stretto is a new zip-on, zip-off fitted sheet design that envelopes your mattress more like a mattress cover — allowing you to just zip off the top part for cleaning and zip a fresh one back on.