Think about looking at these rooms upside down.
Ceilings went blank in the 20th century when building construction generally made them lower, architectural elements became simplified, materials changed, lighting systems were integrated and the cost of elaborate decoration became prohibitive in a majority of homes. Mostly, the focus stayed on the floor.
Today, it’s rare to see [...]
The latest from Bradley Stephens: a super-sophisticated game room
I met designer Bradley Stephens last year, when I toured a NYC showhouse where he created a sensational bedroom inspired by Annie Lennox. I was making a video of his room when my camera battery died (every blogger’s nightmare). Bradley graciously let me return to and complete [...]
Designer Howard Slatkin’s New York apartment (this is the guest room!) qualifies as a full-scale gawker alert.
Elaborate interiors never feel modern to me. Too much furniture, fabric, texture, color, or too many accessories – anything that impedes ease of use or requires abundant maintenance feels out of step with today, at least until someone creates [...]
The single-purpose, formal dining room is dated.
Seriously. Ask yourself how much a dining room table and chairs, buffet and cabinets costs vs how often it is used? Or why such a room is useful today? Apart from answering “I just like it,” most of us could put the space to better use.
For me, it feels [...]
The cool celery color is considered a neutral, natural, comforting color.
As I began to flip through older magazines to find a post subject, I noticed how many room styles, colors and pieces featured in the articles and ads three to five years ago are still around today. Where were the “trendy” things everyone always talks [...]
For me, coffee colors at home are comforting — in a mug or on the walls
Lately, all the colors I’m drawn to seem to be shades of coffee – from stain-on-the-tablecloth pale, to pressed espresso-grounds dark. I adore every coffee hue imaginable, separately and together — both in a mug or on the walls.
I’m [...]
A mini-tour of the house with a specific focus: picture walls
Anyone who watched Top Design would remember the host, India Hicks, daughter of British design icon David Hicks who was known for mixing bold colors and combining antiques with modern furniture. Hicks has been involved in many style projects and lives in the Bahamas [...]
Award winning San Francisco designer duo, Vernon Applegate and Gioi Tran transformed an elongated wall in this Pacific Heights condo bedroom into a modern double-duty storage zone. Flanked on both sides by a set of doors, the center section’s built in drawers [above] rise halfway up the wall leaving the lighted area above open for [...]
When I saw the display [above] of 1970-80’s era record album jackets I immediately thought of my two cousins, brothers Jon and Dave Konjoyan. Both have spent their careers in the music industry and undoubtedly have each of these albums along with hundreds more. Their knowledge of recording artists has always amazed me — even [...]
The entry to a house makes a powerful first impression because it’s like a screen-grab of taste that telegraphs what’s to come in terms of style. Together with color, this creates a mood. Of course entries, or foyers, vary. In extremely modern, open-plan spaces such as these lofts by New York architect and designer [...]
A Jonathan Adler designed room at the California hotel Parker Palm Springs.
Morocco may be known for its vivid, flat-weave rugs but another style is so completely different you may not have realized it too, hails from Morocco.
Vintage Beni Ouarain (the name of the tribe) rugs were woven by Berber women of Morocco’s Mid-Atlas mountains in [...]
How good is your bedside lighting? Can you read easily? Is your half of the bed properly lit for other bed-cozy tasks like needlepoint or knitting? Is there a way to dim the lights when it’s time to change the mood?
If there are more “no” than “yes” answers to this informal quiz, then it may [...]
