Decorating

Anyone who lives, breathes, dreams design will understand the following: sometimes, you become fixated on something design-y, and then —like learning a new word that you start to hear everywhere — you start to see that design-y thing everywhere (much to your delight, but also much to your chagrin because you WANT.IT.) Well, that is me currently with colored glass and mirrors.

Embrace the style of headboard that embraces you.

White is arguably the most versatile of paint colors, especially when it comes to that which surrounds us—walls. Would you agree? Although I love a pop of bold color (or a dramatic dark, or a well-considered neutral…), even I have to agree that white can be seen as one-size-fits-all, serving as a backdrop for spaces overflowing with interest and personality. It seems that no matter the style, from classic and cozy to clean and contemporary, white just works.

The following are stellar examples from our House Tours of rental bathrooms done right. While I’ve broken down the images according to categories, a great thing about these bathrooms is that they all have a cross-section of ideas to steal (in a good way, of course), so steal away!

Okay, HomeGoods fans, we’re one step closer to shopping at a new home store by the brand. TJX just announced the name of the new store, and when they’ll start opening. Back in February, we reported that TJX, the store’s parent company, had told investors that they were planning to introduce a new home store concept in addition to the ever popular HomeGoods. On Tuesday’s earnings call, TJX CEO Ernie Herrman gave the new store a name: HomeSense.

Rugs can be a royal pain. While they most definitely can pull a room together, deciding on the right one for your space can sometimes tear things apart (i.e. your cleaning routine, your finances, your chill about pets and kids). If you’re on the hunt for a rug that meets all of your indoor needs but doesn’t break the bank, listen up. Using outdoor rugs inside is a great option for a select group of people, and there’s a good chance you might be one of them. You like patterns.

When you spend all day, every day, looking at pictures of interiors, you pick up a few tricks. Here’s one of my favorites—something I’ve spotted in a few different interiors, and that always looks great. As an added bonus, it’s cheaper than buying new furniture—and a super easy DIY. The styling secret I’m referring to? A single long, low shelf. (You can also double or triple these up, as suits your needs and the architecture of the space.

For just under a year (as of last June, to be exact), I’ve had a serious crush on the Brooklyn home of Jae and Devin. The architecture alone of their brownstone, with those amazing moldings, ceilings and floors would make any design lover completely and totally jealous obsessed. Their lust-worthy abode is more than just really great bones, however, and I’m going to break down why their combo living room and dining room just plain works.

Having the blues isn’t always a bad thing. Just look at these awesome interiors. From Picasso’s Blue Period and Yves Klein’s invention of International Klein Blue to the modern-day fascination with indigo-dyed shibori fabrics and a revived appreciation for Chinese ginger jars, blue has proven to be a classic color that will never go out of style.

If you’re a creative type who’s ever dreamed of having a little spot to escape from distractions, or just a person who occasionally craves solitude and the embrace of nature, you’ll love this little writer’s cabin on an island in the Puget Sound. The house is walled by glass on three sides, opening it up to the surrounding wilderness, but it also has oversize shutters that can be opened and closed, turning it into a tiny little cocoon of a home.

Showering, shaving, putting on makeup, removing makeup, brushing teeth, trimming beards—we spend a lot of our days in the bathroom. With all that time spent there, it should be a place where you feel comfortable and happy. It’s a room that should reflect your personality and aesthetic, but when two people share the same bathroom, it might be hard to keep them both happy if they have opposing styles.

Welcome to the maiden voyage of a new column we’re launching called Why It Works. Here at Apartment Therapy, we publish hundreds upon hundreds of amazing, lived in, real-life homes every year. And though they all are special in their own right, every now and then there comes along a super smart room within one of those homes. In Why It Works, we’re celebrating that notion, and breaking down all the elements that have come together to create a truly spectacular space.

If you've ever wondered about whether the online furniture retailer's sofas were comfortable, we went behind the scenes to find out (and here's what we thought!).

Lauren Singer has a pretty famous jar. The jar itself is nothing special—just a regular pint-sized glass one—but if you’re an average American, what’s in it is mindblowing. The jar holds all of Singer’s trash from the past four years—yes, every last bit of it. Singer began living a zero waste life nearly half a decade ago, and started the blog Trash is for Tossers to help others do so as well.

Arranging furniture in a small space is always a bit of a challenge—and this is particularly true if your space is a bedroom, living room, dining room, workspace, and kitchen all in one. If you’re looking for inspiration for the layout of your studio apartment, look no farther than these five diminutive spaces, whose owners came up with five very clever solutions for one-room living.

Turns out, there’s more than just 36-roll packs of toilet paper and giant muffins at your local warehouse store. We’ve recently discovered that you can also snag an authentic Eames Lounge chair at Costco, for quite a discount. Earlier this week, we were tipped off to the designer deal via a Facebook group for mid-century modern fans. The photo was of the iconic chair and its ottoman next to Herman Miller boxes stacked on pallets in the warehouse. The price for both pieces? $3,899.99.

Let's face it: If you're going to have a conversation with someone, a traditional sofa probably isn't the best place to do it. But this is.

For our series about influential women in design, we’re focusing this week on Patricia Urquiola, the Spanish designer who is one of the most influential figures in the world of contemporary design. Her designs are playful, colorful, innovative, and sometimes a little bit irreverent, and she’s working to redefine the look of the contemporary home. Patricia Urquiola was born in Oviedo, Spain, in 1961.

Plus, price-conscious combos to get the layered look in your own home.

“Like a great dinner party you want a varied guest list…someone is larger than life, another is quiet but fascinating, another brings beauty, or brilliant conversation, or humor,” artist Judith Bigham says, describing her philosophy of decorating. “If a piece of furniture or art doesn’t work because it’s too big or too exaggerated for a room I often say ‘oh she’s the loudest girl in the room!

Your local IKEA is about to get a bit more colorful. Meet AVSIKTLIG, the latest collection from the retailer that taps Swedish design rockstars 10-gruppen for a pattern-filled ode to bold style. If you’ve never heard of 10-gruppen, allow us to fill you in. The design collective was started in 1970 by ten Swedish designers, and the team quickly became “part of the anti-establishment force of the time, turning against the current aesthetic ideals,” according to IKEA.

Here at Apartment Therapy we love our color, and unusual combinations are our Achilles’ heel. If you’re tired of neutral spaces, the same old “pop” colors or just want to feast your eyes on something new, read on for seven inspiring, invigorating and quirky color schemes to try out today.

As someone who currently has a desk-nightstand-vanity hybrid, trust me when I say that I get any and all of your small-space living woes. That’s why I’ve turned to the wise voices of the Internet to find the essential tips and tricks you’ll need to make your home feel open and welcoming, no matter what the size. Everything’s better with some support, so let’s navigate this big journey through small spaces together. Spring for built-ins.

When I graduated from college, I knew that I wanted to live alone. It wasn’t the wisest financial decision — I had accepted one of those resume-building editorial assistant jobs that pay a borderline living wage — but after living with roommates for four years, I had had it with other people. I wanted to come home at the end of the day to an apartment that looked exactly the same as it had when I’d left.

Bookshelves are a wonderful thing to have, because who doesn’t need more storage, especially the kind that takes advantage of vertical space. But as I’ve discussed with some of my colleagues here at Apartment Therapy, bookcases can also be particularly difficult to style.

Eileen Gray created one of the most iconic side tables ever (as well as the most expensive chair from the 20th century every sold).

We’ve talked a lot about rental kitchens being “you-get-what-you-get-and-you-don’t-get-upset” zones because we’re typically limited in the changes available to us. But that doesn’t mean we can’t have kitchens with good functionality and great style; we just need to be creative! Check out this cheery kitchen from our home tours that showcases do-able and stylish ways to improve your rental scenario.

Well, Spring has finally sprung (at least for us here in New York City!) and I know everyone — myself included — is starting to get that warm weather travel bug. There’s nothing quite like a backpack when you’re traveling, and while any loyal Apartment Therapy reader knows that we simply LOVE to talk about luggage, there’s a new kid on the block. Today I’m excited to share Bobby, which I first saw at the New York Now show a few months ago.

If you're hard up for storage solutions, you may be looking below your sofa or your bed, or above your cabinets — but what about behind?

Working at Apartment Therapy and being on the internet all day, well, let’s just say I’ve seen my share of out there design. Much of it, though, pales in comparison to the work of Porky Hefer, a South African artist and the mastermind behind some seriously unorthodox seating. Today, Brittney came across this hanging chair—reminiscent of a gas mask—while trying to source a photo from Pinterest (a task that accounts for roughly 95 percent of our time).

It's like instantly adding more square footage without even trying.

I recently stayed in a traditional shotgun apartment in New Orleans with my partner and one of my best friends. If you aren’t familiar with the shotgun home layout, it’s typically long and narrow, and made up of rooms that are directly connected to each other, directing you through each room to get to the next. The layouts were very popular in the South (especially New Orleans), but are also common in New York and Chicago.

Last year while shopping with a friend for kitchen countertops, I saw and fell for a small piece of blue-and-white polished stone that reminded me of photos of Earth taken from space. Blue bahia granite, as I learned, is quarried in Brazil and is “legendary for its beauty” (although its “stunning blue colors can be a little hard to incorporate into a kitchen,” at least according to one site).

Color (via paint) can be a very powerful design tool, especially when used in unexpected places. While most people don’t necessarily think to paint the inside of their window frames, it can be the difference between a run-of-the-mill room and a spectacular, and memorable interior. A few “pros” to painting your window frames: It’s not as big a time/money commitment as painting your walls.

If you haven't heard of her, you've definitely seen her work.

I’ll be honest, when I got the brief for this article, I took one look at the title and thought: no way. I’ve gone on record around here as a rug-size militant, and one who believes that bigger is nearly always better. But before dismissing the idea completely, I decided to have a hunt for rooms breaking traditional rug rules and still managing to look good. Lo and behold, what I found was eye-opening to say the least.

Beyond satiating curiosity, getting to see how different people tackle the layout of homes with the same floor plan is also illuminating. Do the same people have the same design challenges? Do they use space in the same way? Does architecture have a strong affect on the furniture and accessories selected? Tirsh and Minky share a lovely North Oakland loft with their dog Arnie. As the owners of Hunter & Lew, a design studio, having a home that fosters creativity is clearly important to them.

My little bathroom is one of the things I love most about my little New York apartment, but unfortunately, it does not have much in the way of storage. As someone very devoted to the idea of order, if not always the practice of it, this troubles me a great deal, and so I’ve come up with a few solutions that allow me to fit a whole bathroom’s worth of things into my small, storage-challenged space, all (mostly) out of sight.

What happens when an architect and a stylist meet, fall in love, and tackle the renovation of a 500-square-foot London apartment together? Some really beautiful details—and some really clever small space solutions. The innovations begin in the entry hall, which passes between the apartment’s bedroom and bathroom on its way to the main living space.

In a world where buying a new sofa can be accomplished by a couple clicks, some in the design world are resisting this fast-paced, instant gratification direction in favor of a slower way. An offshoot of the Slow Movement — which began in Italy in 1986 as the Slow Food Movement (a natural reaction against a McDonald’s opening up) and has gained serious traction as of late — Slow Design focuses on process, origin and materials, while valuing the environment and the individual.

English roll-arm sofas gained popularity in the 19th century, and their sinuous profile, deep, accommodating seats, and signature low arms—perfect for resting one’s head—are elements that have kept them ingrained in popular design culture even today. Now available in a wide range of sizes, colors, and fabrics—and even sleeper options—this comfy, classic style is equally at home in formal, vintage-inspired houses and modern, eclectic apartments.

IKEA is already one of our go-to retailers for smart small space solutions, and the new collections they have in store for us are only going to enforce that. There are several products debuting in stores and online next month especially for multipurpose spaces that we’re excited about. Here’s your first look: First up is the EKEBOL sofa. It combines wooden shelves underneath and behind the cushions within a metal frame to add storage to a piece that often doesn’t have any.

Here's a reminder to us all that good things—including genius design ideas—really do come in small packages.

Is it asking too much for a seating option to be comfortable, stylish and space-saving? Well, that treasured chair that you use as a nightstand might find it challenging to meet those expectations, but this shape-shifting Ollie chair easily hits the mark and does it with some added flair. Whether you’re trying to make the most of a micro apartment or simply enjoy multi-functional furniture, this unique chair is a small space lover’s dream.

The average person spends about a third of their life in bed, but in discussions of history we seldom ever mention sleeping (unless, perhaps, someone had the misfortune to be murdered while doing it) and even more infrequently mention the place where the sleeping happens.

Have you got a spare room, a bit of hallway, the loft above a stairway—any particularly small sliver of space in your home that’s searching for its purpose? Narrow rooms can pose a special challenge, but this doesn’t mean that you can’t make the most of that space. Here’s a little inspiration for getting the most out of a (really, really) narrow room. Even the narrowest of rooms can make a great workspace, as evidenced by this interior from David Boyle.

Name: Clients of Marie Flanigan Location: River Oaks — Houston, Texas So often spaces specifically designed for guests can feel cold and unwelcoming. Not so with this warm and relaxing space! It manages to feel special and serene while still having personality and function. With a strong focus on the natural light available and smart lighting choices, the whole space feels ready for a visitor!

One of the biggest downsides to studio living is feeling like you live — and entertain — in your bedroom. But even though that might physically/technically be true, it doesn’t mean you can’t use design to make it feel like it’s more than just a studio. These smart and stylish studios — all under 500 square feet — employ three of the most successful ways to make a studio apartment feel bigger than it is.

As a lover of mid-century design, I’ve long been familiar with the work of designers like Charles and Ray Eames, Hans Wegner, and Eero Sarinen. But I confess that it was only recently—thanks, Pinterest!—that I became acquainted with the works of another mid-century great, the Italian designer Gio Ponti. Like a lot of furniture designers of that era, Gio Ponti was also an architect.

I am so excited to announce the official debut of Ms. Chesterfield, a modern, feminine version of the chunky old Chesterfield. It’s also the newest piece in a continued collaboration between Apartment Therapy and Interior Define. I got to see it in Chicago two weeks ago, and it is truly beautiful.

Anastassia Nelson may still be in her twenties, but she owns her own stylish house and is excellent at navigating the intricacies of estate sales. Because estate sales aren’t like yard and garage sales, they can be a bit intimidating to those not in the know. That’s why I asked Ana to share some insider tips and unspoken rules to help guide someone who’s never been to an estate sale before. Estate sales can be kind of weird to a newcomer.

If you’re someone who’s just as into statement sofas as statement pillows, then you’re really going to love Joy Cho’s latest collection for Target. And it’s a first: Joy’s love of color and pattern explodes into a new category—furniture! The new Oh Joy!

Funny lady Ellen DeGeneres wants you to pull up a seat—preferably one of hers. The comedian’s lifestyle brand just debuted a multi-room collection of furniture with Thomasville. Thomasville began in 1904 in North Carolina, and continues to be a bastion of classic American furniture design. That, blended with Ellen’s personal aesthetic, resulted in the ED Ellen DeGeneres collection, which has two main styles: relaxed mid-century, and rustic modern.

Teeny tiny bedroom got you down? Fear not. We're here to help.

Sometime a few decades back, it seems that designers cottoned onto the fact that mirrors are (er, make that can be) fantastic for interiors. They reflect light, thus making a space look brighter and larger. There’s also a certain shiny-glam factor to them, owing to the fact that traditionally, glass is an expensive finish to splash about. That all being said, there can definitely be too much of a good thing, especially when mirrors are concerned.

Design by: Veronica Koltuniak of Verokolt Architect: Ben May Design Home Builder: Bryer Construction and Installation, LLC Location: Austin, Texas Scratch-n-sniff wallpaper isn’t usually the first jumping off point in a design plan, but when Veronica Koltuniak of Verokolt lucked out with such a cool client—a self-confirmed bachelor who prefers a home filled with friends, music and late night jam sessions—requesting such rarities, she couldn’t believe her luck.

Here’s a sneak peek of the one, the only Ms. Chesterfield. I’ve been sitting on another secret for WAY too long. I’m thrilled that I can FINALLY share our newest collaboration with Interior Define with all of you. Ready for 2017, here’s my interpretation of the iconic Chesterfield sofa: a sleeker, sexier and more modern version, and she’s called Ms. Chesterfield.

I’ve been on a quest for the perfect pillow for years. My mattress game is on point, but the same cannot be said about my pillows. I’ve tried memory foam, contoured memory foam, down varieties (not for me…too much fluffing), down-alternative, gel-fiber, polyester fluff—you name it, I’ve slept on it.

West Elm’s Peggy sofa has been the source of much controversy this week. Here’s how the affordable mid-century style option went from popular pick to discontinued in just about six days. It all started when Anna Hezel’s piece, Why Does This One Couch From West Elm Suck So Much?, was published on The Awl last Thursday. In it, she details how she and her partner bought the Peggy after moving in together.

The inaugural Palm Springs Door Tour is taking place this week at Palm Springs’ annual mid-century modern lovefest, Modernism Week. If you find yourself asking, why a tour of doors, just search the #doorsofinstagram hashtag on the photo-friendly platform and you’ll see why (there are over 100,000 photos!). Perhaps the most popular door you’ll find on Instagram is “that pink door,” a now-icon of Palm Springs’ Indian Canyons neighborhood.

Vijay Nathan—Product Manager for Apartment Therapy Media—and his wife Anita moved into their rental loft in Philadelphia last year, bringing along with them furniture pieces from previous homes that no longer felt quite right. Some things they loved, others they knew were now placeholders and in need of replacement. “We came to our marriage with furniture that had served us well when we lived apart, though most of it lacked personality and longevity,” says Vijay.

While the thought of dividing a small studio into even smaller compartments may strike fear into the hearts of many apartment dwellers, there may come a time when the need for privacy and the longing for a “grownup” home wins out. If you’re caught between a studio in a city you love and the kind of multi-bedroom house suburban dreams are made of, these simple room dividers could be all the compromise you need. Hey, backyards are overrated anyway. Above: This hip loft in L.A.

Anything that spreads the love of reading is wonderful in our book. We’ve been enamored with Little Free Libraries since they started popping up in neighborhoods around the world nearly a decade ago. Recently, Chronicle Books held a design competition to see if architects could come up with the perfect Little Free Library. Here are the results: The first Little Free Library came to be in 2009.

When you need a hammer, nails or other hardware supplies — home improvement behemoth Home Depot is one obvious place to turn. But when you need a dining table, baskets or a bar cart? It certainly isn’t the first place that comes to mind, however the hardware superstore’s growing selection of furniture (especially the Home Decorators Collection) has beautiful pieces if you’re willing to hunt for them. To jumpstart your search, here are 20 of my top picks.

My current apartment is housed in a building over 100 years old. And though it creaks and cracks a lot, nothing can replace the charm of tall ceilings, cove molding and other traditional building features. Yet I sometimes wonder if my furnishings do the space justice? Does my “Bohemian-meets-Maximalist-meets-Literally-Throw-Anything-Together” style really make the architectural details of this older building sing?

Tomorrow, IKEA is launching the official press site for the new STOCKHOLM 2017 collection. But today, I received an advance paper copy of the catalog in the mail and just had to share some favorites ASAP: there are some really strong designs (some classic, some more funky) at very good prices. The pieces in the collection will be available in the US starting in April and I can tell you, I’ve definitely got my eye on that rattan cabinet. I see a trip to Schaumburg in my future.

Project by: Jessica Preston of colour+ shape Location: Cambridge, United Kingdom Jessica Preston’s design firm is called colour + shape. And she’s not kidding. She turned a 1960s Cambridge, England bungalow into a vibrant, contemporary showpiece exploding with color and personality.

With well over 48 sofas (not counting custom pieces, sectionals and all size options) in their catalog of products, Room & Board has a dizzying assortment of furniture. When we visited their Manhattan showroom in Chelsea, we were honestly taken aback by the vastness of the store, not even knowing where to start our tests. So we can understand how anyone considering a R&B sofa might have a similar plight. How do you narrow down what you’re looking for?

We celebrate Valentine’s Day a little differently around here. You see, the day of love, to us, is a chance to profess our adoration of furniture, designers, and basically anything that goes in the home. So this week, we’re sharing our passion for a handful of our favorite heralded furniture designers and the homes they outfitted and loved for themselves. Come along, people all over the design world, and hop aboard this love train.

There’s a homelessness crisis in Los Angeles, with an estimated 50,000 people sleeping on the streets every night—a figure that’s jumped 35% in the last year alone. Architecture students at the University of Southern California have worked with city officials and nonprofits to come up with Homes for Hope, a single-occupancy pod that can be built quickly and cheaply, and can help provide safe spaces for homeless people while more permanent solutions are in the works.

Many of us have been there: You’re on the hunt for a new sofa but you’re tired of the options at your local stores, so you go online to wrangle some fresh ideas. Plenty make your “maybe” list and grace your dedicated Pinterest board, but you just can’t bite the bullet without sitting on the sofa yourself. We get it…that’s a tricky position to be in.

The homes we admire while flipping through magazines and scrolling through Pinterest are undeniably pretty, but do you ever look at an image of an impossibly pristine home and wonder, “Does anyone actually live there?” In celebration of quirky, personality-packed homes, we’ve rounded up house tours that definitely show signs of life—and that can teach us how to make our own homes shine. Boring doesn’t stand a chance.