Every year when the days grow longer and the evenings grow warmer, I love the transition from eating meals inside to enjoying them outside. Not only does dining al fresco make every bite taste better, but the house seems to triple in size as soon as we incorporate the yard into our routine! Since every square inch is precious when you’re living in 600 […]
I may have switched to digital for my receipts filing and romance novel reading, but just as I’ll always splurge on glossy magazines, I will never abandon the heady anticipation that accompanies each season’s round of catalogs. Opening the mailbox to discover pages packed with shiny new offerings from my favorite interiors brands is like unpacking […]
A while ago I picked up a scented candle from San Francisco-based homewares company Small Gunns. It’s been sitting on my dresser ever since, where the combination of its fresh, sunshiny scent and its charming label make me smile every time I pass it. I know you guys will love Small Gunns too—whenever I post a […]
There are so many household items that we never stop to think about until we’re in a pinch. Take shower curtains. We’ve probably all bought more than our fair share of cheap plastic ones in those “oh crap we just moved in and we need to take a shower now” moments. Because hey, it works right? Then years go by […]
Happy Monday from High Point Market in North Carolina! I’m here at the interiors industry’s largest trade show, where I’m one of this year’s Style Spotters. It’s been my honor to roam the market and round up my favorite trends for a panel discussion taking place tomorrow. From modern furniture to traditional decor and everything in […]
In the two years that I’ve lived in my little LA bungalow, every area of the house has received an update but the bathroom. It’s like the room that time forgot! The biggest reason I haven’t touched it is that it’s in such bad shape that I get overwhelmed just thinking about where to begin. […]
My favorite interior design projects aren’t the big, splashy custom jobs that most of us ordinary folk can only dream of. Rather, they’re the ones that showcase how a few fresh, affordable purchases can be combined with existing pieces to bring new life to a tired old space. Today’s design makeover from Claire Rose Staszak of […]
Lately my favorite interior design style is hard to put words to yet instantly recognizable when I see it. A little bit modern and a little bit traditional, a little bit masculine and a little bit feminine, mostly spare and simple but with an underlying luxe quality…it borrows the best of everything to create something […]
Living in Los Angeles has changed my interiors style considerably. In San Francisco I couldn’t get enough of quirky midcentury, and in New York before that I ascribed to a faded Belle Epoque elegance. Now that my heart resides staunchly in Southern California I’m drawn to tones that suggest a juxtaposition of desert and sea, wide-open-nature […]
It takes a lot to get me excited about shopping lately. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of charming boutiques here in LA. But many seem to carry the same merchandise, with so much product crossover amongst them that an afternoon spent browsing feels decidedly like the movie Groundhog Day. While I certainly don’t […]
Whenever Spring rolls around, I get a back-to-nature itch, like the ghosts of my Iowa farm girl ancestors are calling my name. There’s something about the birdsong and blossoming trees that makes me long to frolic through fields with a newborn foal at my heels. Yet seeing as there are no fields nor foals in my immediate […]
You know how I keep saying I’m going to get a hobby to create better work/life balance? Well, I’ve actually had one in mind for a while—I just haven’t known quite how to get it started. See, I’ve always had a fondness for gardening. I grew up doing it with my mom. Every spring we’d do some […]