02/23/2018

Ultimate Spring Style Guide – 30 Colorful Must-Haves

Welcome back color, we’ve missed you. After a winter of black puffer coats and boots that could moonlight as a doorstop, spring style is a celebration of more ambitious pieces in bright palettes. What are we seeing this season in design? Color and playful accents that have a bit of an earthy feel. Bold jewelry is a definite essential, ideally big and impactful, to add instant intrigue to everyday basics.

1. Trip suede boot 2. Rio bag 3. America glass 4. Masaai bag 5. Panama multi currency wallet 6. Era pink glasses 7. Circulus Eyes coin purse 8. Pom pom pouch 9. Takayam Pastilles bracelet 10. Pepper sweater 11. Yellow suede sneakers 12. 1970 pillow 13. Mustard statement necklace 14. Waterside earrings 15. Wheels Up passport cover 16. Twisty earrings 17. Kilim throw 18. Gingham pant 19. Icon baseball hats 20. Dune Top pants 21. Funfetti pillow 22. Wool pots plates 23. Cita towel 24. Cicily ruffle dress 25. Secret espadrille 26. Chelsea embroidered short dress 27. Pom pom mustard scarf 28. Eliza skirt Sienna rose 29. Keruing volcano folding chair 30. Davis poplin skirt

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02/15/2018

Nostalgic Textiles Made the Old-Fashioned Way

In the Michigan home of designer Lisa Price passed down traditions reign and are reimagined. Price is the ideal representative behind her whimsical, nostalgic textiles printed with squirrels, cherries or a charcoal grill, further emboldened by bright colors. Her organic pieces are all handmade in the classic wood cut technique, which add a time-honored cache of connecting to the artist—a rare skill in an age of fast fashion and Amazon Prime. Under the early tutelage of her “Grandma”, Price spent summers at her home where they would garden, feed wildlife, stock up on farmer’s market produce and “can up a storm.” She learned to sew and was inspired by her grandmother’s collection of vintage fabrics, which she would repurpose into clothing and aprons. Her creative instincts are atavistic, as her grandfather was a chef in the navy and wrote a cookbook, she owns multiple quilts made by her great grandma, along with a collection of antiques from her great aunt. “So the idea of a unique home, textiles, cooking, etc feels even more deep rooted,” says Price.

A selection of tea towels with wood cut prints of nostalgic emblems that work in the modern day from their color and retro appeal.

 

Price shares her home with her recently wed husband Stephan. They partner in such activities as creating a grass free lawn so they can garden on their “.007 acre plot” and acquiring vintage items that they prop in their home. A house filled with spider plants, retro prints in mossy green and diner-styled fixtures that reflect all the happy nostalgia of a Drive-In theater. Her influences come across in her wares. Tea towels, pillows and aprons that comfort us by knowing that such a person exists and still designs nostalgic textiles the old-fashioned way. A true creator who upholds a quiet yet powerful existence drawn from baking, outdoor activity and nature.

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02/07/2018

All-Inclusive – Valentine’s Day Celebration

Scrooge chose the wrong holiday. If there is anything to bah humbug it’s a holiday that buys into sharing a string of spaghetti, reconciling in the rain, intercepting an overseas flight for a marriage proposal. Overt gushing over your paramour hews toward a disastrous outcome. There are only so many opportunities in a lifetime to lock lips in a downpour and actually enjoy it, thus keep romance in reality. Relationships are like finances and politics, they should be kept private. Hallmark Channel enthusiasts stay with us, a Valentine’s Day celebration lands on the perfect date for a holiday.

Valentine’s Day’s softer palette to honor the “ones” you love.

 

February 14, fully entrenched in winter, is perhaps the reason for this cynical holiday approach. Isn’t romance more of a spring/summer activity? Though it’s calendric placement is an ideal excuse to be festive and break from a winter funk. Celebrate not just the one you love but the ones you love. We have altered the holiday to be more universal and a little less commercial.

Serve a combination of good foods with decadent treats.

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01/31/2018

Art Inspired Home Design

There are designer homes that follow a Starbuck’s model, despite the different location they all look the same. A formula consisting of high gloss furnishings, gilded bar cart, area rug and textiles in a trending pattern like Greek key or Moroccan trellis. Spaces that appear to be replicated and itemized from the very design books perched on their Lucite coffee table. There are touches that cannot be experienced via print or digital like techno music and scented candles, which must cost more than $75 for fear of smelling like a Walmart variety. To slip away from the prescribed trappings of a designer cliche, where guests will remark whether Poppy, Lilly or some other floral inspired name fluff their pillows, unique pieces and treating your home artistically will distinguish the look.

Merging artistic elements in a home’s design secures originality.

 

Living in an art inclined home you can swop out paintings the way some people change hair accessories. Paintings, works or art and furnishings assembled from an inherent love over what’s trending creates a kaleidoscope of pieces in home’s accustomed to a perpetual rotation. It’s a process where you mine what you’ve accumulated, edit, acquire and resume the cycle.

A vanity area is given an abstract boost when juxtaposed against original art.

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01/26/2018

Wallpaper Design

Take a blank space, add wallpaper, and achieve instant personality. The papered look has range too. It can embody Old World richness, embellishing rooms in grander estates with historic prints, usually of swirling florals in a panoply of garden inspired colors or Asian pagodas, to 80’s metallics that take inspiration from a disco ball. Wallpaper design may evolve though the style always evokes a reaction.

A simple pantry/bar area is elevated to a designed space by the addition of wallpaper and complimentary elements.

 

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01/19/2018

Simple Laundry Room Makeover

Just because your washables are in need of attention does not mean your laundry room has to follow suit. Take the dread out of doing loads of laundry by revamping the space. While a laundry room makeover may seem like the last update needed in a project-heavy household, simple tweaks garner major results.

An overlooked area of the home shines after a simple makeover.

 

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01/12/2018

Conceal Wires with a Media Cabinet

There are some things that should never be revealed: bra straps, teeth stained with red wine, political fanaticism and television wires. The inevitable acceptance of granting a television access in the family room escalates into more cable channels, media devices and the uncertain welcome of xBox. A setup bulging with electronics cause cringe-worthy moments for the most adept designers. Solutions include slide down screen, situating the television within an armoire or that flat screen behind a painting trick. For this room, the right media cabinet (or television console for your web searches) has the ability to make a television appear part of the decor and conceal unsightly wires for a designed look.

The right television console can make design-challenged electronics look like part of the decor.

A media cabinet does not have to intimidate or look sterile. Countless options abound. Simply find a piece that seamlessly connects to your room’s scheme within your budget. In this room the style transitioned from an antique, eclectic look to a more streamlined clean and modern style. The inclusion of this single television console from AllModern omitted messy strands of wires and added a contemporary feel to the scheme.

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01/07/2018

Prep Style – Today’s Classics

Nostalgists for authentic ‘80s trends swoon over plaid worn with heavy stockings, headbands and oversized sweaters. Coming off a year when emojis starred in their own movie, loud prints and monograms, symbols of prep style, seems quaint.

Elements of a preppy’s life.

 

The 1980’s saw the rise of spiked hair, slashed shirts and shoulder pads but there was also a sophisticated side to the decade, embodied in preppies, a word originating from prep school.

Pearls, plaid and a monogrammed jewelry case from Marley Lilly.

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01/01/2018

Decorate with Statement Pieces

While dominant furnishings ground a room it’s the supporting accents that make a lasting impression. To enter the annals of true design as an artistic, personalized form you follow a few basic principles, notably melding disparate pieces with an unified thread, and then abandon the rules. It begins with an inherent understanding of your style, which directs the acquisition pursuit. The process is imprecise, less formulaic than an overly designed look where some showcase homes appear to be domesticated hotel rooms. When you decorate with statement pieces take a confident approach. They will fit into your scheme because they were acquired based on an initial attraction. The theory may sound like a guide in finding true love and, in fact, the same edicts apply. When you choose a significant other, in human or inanimate form, it’s that over-the-moon electricity that separates a nice, safe relationship to one that has passion.

Add like-minded accents to support the main piece through color and scale.

 

Accent pieces have passion. They are bolder than a simple, quality sofa or solid wooden table but there needs to be stylistic relief in an overly prescribed design. Whether it’s the artistry found in a chair’s silhouette or captivating materials and colors, such accessories command an environment. Risks are encouraged and there will be some pairings that do not fit, which is part of the process in achieving the destined look.

A coffee table book with a striking cover commands the table.

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12/22/2017

Ultimate Winter Guide – 33 Activities

Even the chirpiest optimist can become an Eeyore once winter doldrums hit, making any event an opportunity to bemoan the cold. To remedy the season’s challenged climate, we look to Scandinavia’s ritual of hygee that honors simple comforts and a healthful approach. Winter activities and an attention to nurturing rituals will transform the cold season into an anticipated time of year.

Winter Activities to Beat Cold Weather Doldrums

1. Layer pieces: Find enjoyment from the art of bundling up. Winter layering can be found in everything from decor, cooking and clothing. Your cold weather wardrobe checklist should include long johns, wooly garments, boots, trapper hats, scarves, mittens and insulated coats. The result shows personal style to keep you warm and more enthused to engage in outdoor winter activity.

Make dressing for the outdoors an event.

 

2. Winter activities: Carve a day around ice skating, skiing, snow shoeing, sledding–cold weather sports invigorate.

Sledding is a simple form of fun that never tires, aside from all the extra runs.

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