A staircase can be painted according to its best features -- those you wish to emphasize or enhance. When you encounter a staircase as homely as the original one in our house, what to do is not always clear. Seriously, it was so bad I thought at one point we'd need to rip it out completely. Only after I started studying staircases and their component parts was I able to … [Read more...]
Removing Kitchen Cabinet Doors
“I kept opening and closing the kitchen cabinet doors to get dishes. I found myself grumbling about it.” My friend Christine, who’s longing to remodel her 70s kitchen, recently coined the term “anti-upperitis” to express her annoyance with kitchen cabinet doors. One special pet peeve of hers is upper kitchen cabinet storage behind closed doors. A remedy is to transform … [Read more...]
Corner Picture Walls
Corner picture walls are like visual libraries that say a lot about their owners. Perhaps more than any other type of arrangement, corner picture walls are highly individual expressions of taste and style. Each time I see a photo of a wall composed of images or objects it’s like putting one more piece of a life-long décor jig-saw puzzle into place. I always learn something … [Read more...]
New York Penthouse Kitchen
A patterned Moroccan tile floor adds spice to a stunning city penthouse kitchen Walls of windows on three sides of a New York City penthouse kitchen provide glorious north, east and south views and light -- effectively giving it the look of a conservatory. While this stunning architectural feature makes the kitchen totally unique, it also has an interesting impact on the … [Read more...]
Wet Rooms
Elaborate home spas with wet rooms are designed to pamper the owners. Showers have been pushed out into elaborate wet rooms complete with floor designs, seating, shelving, windows, steam and ventilation in addition to multi-functional features. The desire to create the effect of a luxury spa at home has reworked shower design thinking well beyond the old tile and curtain … [Read more...]
