Throughout the past year(-ish) spent mostly at home, we hope you’ve taken some time to celebrate the little wins that have made your space a happier place. Scouring your bathtub! Dusting your floorboards! Cleaning out your fridge drawers! A year ago these things might not have seemed nearly as exciting, but right now — in honor of spring cleaning — we 100-percent believe that every tiny task that makes your space a bit cleaner and happier is worth celebrating.

Now that 2021 is here, we’re making little improvements at home that help us stick to healthier habits. Getting the year off to a good start could mean something as simple as reorganizing your spice rack, giving your apartment a deep clean, or treating yourself to a bouquet of fresh flowers each week. Whatever your resolutions, there’s one area of your home you should definitely consider improving right now to set you up for a better year: your sleep space.

Our home projects editor Megan loves a good DIY, and she loves a good challenge. So Megan has asked some of the most clever DIYers if they’re up for making over some everyday object on a budget. We call it Megan’s Mystery Makeover! For this edition, Megan’s making things festive for the holidays. Will today’s DIYer be up for the challenge?

While spring might be the traditional time of year to do a deep clean, the slower winter months are great for tackling regular maintenance and home improvement projects that will get your space in tip-top shape for the year ahead. This could mean anything from giving your carpets a deep clean to installing a new lighting fixture; and in many cases, you’re probably going to want some help from a pro.

We love a good DIY any time of the year, but we really love seeing how people dress up their DIYs for the holidays. That’s exactly what inspired this special holiday edition of Megan’s Mystery Makeover! That’s our series where our home projects editor Megan sends a DIYer some humdrum object and asks them to transform it into something bespoke and beautiful — all within a $25 budget. And today, Chelsea from Lovely Indeed has accepted the challenge.

There’s a new year around the corner, and while we don’t exactly have a crystal ball to predict the top living room trends that will become the design stars of 2021, there are three styles we’re betting will continue to be perennial favorites. Modern farmhouse, Scandinavian, and mid-century modern living rooms are on course to remain popular styles in the New Year — and AllModern has the best of every modern style, in one easy-to-shop spot.

Houseplants add instant warmth and energy to a space, but they can be intimidating: Am I watering too much? Not enough? What the heck is indirect light, anyway? Don’t worry! There are plenty of pretty plants that deliver green vibes — and bonus style points — without requiring a degree in botany. We picked seven favorites that will look great in any room.

If you’d initially planned on working from home for just a few weeks, then maybe a few months, and now. . .well, for much longer, chances are your WFH setup is a little ad hoc. But, take comfort in the fact that you’re definitely not alone. Interior designers and decorators have seen a huge surge in requests for home office space upgrades this year and, for lots of us, a solid WFH setup has transitioned from a “nice to have” space to an absolutely essential one.

When robot vacuums first started gaining popularity, I thought I would never buy one. They were pretty expensive, missed dustballs tucked away in corners and crevices, and had a tendency to throw themselves down the stairs. Fast forward a decade, and they’re more affordable, more efficient, and much less likely to take a tumble.

We all have at least one person on our holiday gift list who values practicality above all else. Regardless of whom you’re shopping for — your dad, your plus one, or even yourself — practical gifts are often the trickiest to get right. You want to find something that’s useful but unique, fun and functional.If you’re stumped for ideas, QVC has a huge selection of gifts that feel thoughtful and festive, but are still extremely practical.

Entryways can be tricky when it comes to decor. We want them to greet us with warmth and make a great first impression when entering our homes. But on the other hand, they’re generally some of the smallest, narrowest spaces we have to work with — and still need to be uncluttered and functional. That’s where an RIY can help.

Tiny spaces call for big ideas, and that’s especially true this time of year when many of us are looking to make things festive but don’t necessarily have the square footage for a Christmas tree. In our Instagram Stories, we asked about your biggest holiday decorating challenges. The top response? How to make a small space sparkle.This calls for an RIY: a quick “refresh it yourself” project you can complete quickly and without the investment of a typical DIY.

Creating your wedding registry is one of the most fun parts of being engaged. It’s an opportunity to build a foundation with your partner and get excited about your new chapter together. But what items should you actually add to your wedding registry? It depends on your needs, wants, and future plans — especially when it comes to setting up a brand new kitchen. It’s smart to strategize, both for your own sake and for your guests’.

When Apartment Therapy’s Lifestyle Director Taryn Williford and her husband got married, registering at Crate and Barrel was an obvious choice. It turned out to be one of their best wedding planning decisions — and one of the most fun parts of the whole experience. She’s here today to answer your questions about what to add to your own Crate and Barrel wedding registry. We asked three couples what wedding registry questions are currently stumping them.

Just like everyone else who’s been working from home for most of this year, lots of us here at Apartment Therapy realized our WFH spaces could use a little attention as soon as we started spending eight hours a day in them. And while we always try to help you with fixing up your space, this time, it was you who came to our rescue! We asked our Instagram followers to vote on colors and patterns for four of our staffers.

If your dining room has been doing double-duty for the past six (has it only been six?) months, functioning as both a dining space and a home office or a classroom, we wouldn’t be surprised if you’re starting to feel like it needs a little refresh. That could be something as simple as a new tablecloth or place settings that make mealtimes feel special again, or new lighting that transforms the entire space.

We’re all about RIYs right now: quick “refresh it yourself” projects that require just a little bit of planning, can be executed in under an hour, and leave you with that same fulfilling got-it-done feeling of a bigger DIY project. In our Instagram Stories, we asked which trouble spots in your homes are in need of a little RIY love. The #1 response? Your home office setup.

Social distancing hasn’t replaced our need for socializing. “How We Gather Now” is Apartment Therapy’s look at how we’re finding safe new ways to get together in 2020, presented in partnership with Absolut Juice. We’ve heard about sunset cocktails on a city roof; focusing on what you can do; and celebrating even in times of crisis.

Now that we’re spending more time at home, you’ve probably noticed some spaces where a little home improvement could go a long way. We’re here to tell you that DIY projects are always worth it. Don’t let the impossibly perfect “afters” you see on Instagram and Pinterest scare you away — DIYs are a lot more doable than you might think!

It’s already the dog days of summer, and you may have planned to be sipping Micheladas in Tulum or making s’mores in front of a campfire in the Adirondacks right now. So we get it if you’re bummed about a canceled vacation—we are too. But before summer totally sizzles out, consider bringing your vacation to your backyard. Hopefully you’ve been able to enjoy your outdoor space more than ever this summer.

With the back-to-school season looking a lot different this year, you’re not alone if you’re currently rethinking how you’re going to make it work. Whether you’ve headed back to campus or learning from your living room, creating a cozy and productive space to help you conquer the fall semester is a great first step. To help you create the perfect workspace, our stylists came up with three setups for maximizing efficiency in the coming months.

If you’re reading this, it’s probably a safe guess that you love a great Before and After. Obviously, we do too. And sometimes, it’s fun to turn the tables and ask you to decide what becomes of a space in need of a total makeover. That’s just what we did with Carrie’s totally empty dining room at her new home in The Catskills.

How would you feel about letting millions of Instagram followers completely redesign your space, from top to bottom? One of our readers—a very brave one—let us do just that. Earlier this year, Carrie moved from a small 1-bedroom apartment near NYC to a mountain home in The Catskills. We then asked our Instagram followers to choose furniture, decor, plants, and accessories from The Home Depot. The polls have closed, the furniture’s been delivered, and the afters are here!

When Carrie and Matthew moved from a 1-bedroom apartment in the NYC area to a bigger home nestled in the woods of The Catskills, one thing was clear: They’d need a lot more furniture and decor to style their space. To get the job done, we asked our Instagram followers (aka you!) to help decide how to design their living room by voting on which items from The Home Depot deserved a spot in their new place. And the results are in! Here’s how your selections shaped her new space.

If you follow our Insta Stories you might remember that, a little while back, we asked for your help in styling Carrie’s new home in The Catskills by voting on items to include from The Home Depot. After moving from a tiny apartment in the city to a new house in the mountains, Carrie’s new bedroom was a total blank slate. But now it’s totally finished—thanks to you!

There are many basic design tenets every pro follows, but great designers know that rules are sometimes meant to be broken. It’s what adds personality and keeps their spaces feeling fresh—not predictable. But you don’t have to be a pro to bend the rules. We worked with The Home Depot to design a space that shows off the easiest design rules to break, using pieces from their vast online-only furniture and decor collections.

You’ve been searching, and (not to sound creepy) we’ve been watching. Today, we’re revealing three new Color Search palettes based on your top color searches. Color Search is, of course, our cool tool that lets you look at any image in our House Tours and tells you what Sherwin-Williams paint color will get you that look. Or, if you’re going the other way, lets you tell us what colors you’re feeling and see how other real people have used them in their homes.

Address: 70 La Salle Street #4CNeighborhood: Morningside Heights, Manhattan Price: $780,000 Listed by: Jessica Waxman, CorcoranSize: 904 square feetBedrooms: 2Bathrooms: 1While it’s not that uncommon to come across a place as sleek and chic as this one in Manhattan, this apartment stands out for its bold blue cabinets, graphic tiled backsplash and floors, and an open layout with plenty of natural light that lets all those colors and patterns work together without feeling overwhelming.

Open floor plans: We love ‘em, but they come with some challenges. Namely, the difficult task of setting up distinct zones when, well, you really just have one big open space to work with. But it can be done. Linda, who earlier this year bought a new alcove studio, asked us to help divvy up her light-filled space into separate zones for living, sleeping, and dining.

Boring bedrooms are one of the biggest challenges of renting an apartment. Whether you’re dealing with a serious lack of storage or a strict landlord who won’t let you hang anything on the walls, creating a bedroom that feels personalized, peaceful, and secure is so important in unsure times. And the solutions to these problems might be right under your nose (or head!).Value City Furniture™ is one of our favorite sources for beds that are more than just a place to snooze.

Boring bedrooms are one of the biggest challenges of renting an apartment. Whether you’re dealing with a serious lack of storage or a strict landlord who won’t let you hang anything on the walls, creating a bedroom that feels personalized, peaceful, and secure is so important in unsure times. And the solutions to these problems might be right under your nose (or head!).

For my entire adult life, dining rooms have been a foreign concept. An entire room? Devoted to just dining? That’s nonsense! Having a dining room seems like a pipe dream while living in a one-bedroom Manhattan walk-up, but I’ve learned there are some easy ways to create a cozy dining space even if you don’t have an entirely separate room for it.

For my entire adult life, dining rooms have been a foreign concept. An entire room? Devoted to just dining? That’s nonsense! Having a dining room seems like a pipe dream while living in a one-bedroom Manhattan walk-up, but I’ve learned there are some easy ways to create a cozy dining space even if you don’t have an entirely separate room for it.

The living room is the darling of interior design. It’s the most central part of the home where we relax, unwind, and enjoy our downtime, both alone and with friends. But despite how much, well, living we do in the living room, it’s also the space that tends to have the most design problems. From lack of space to an uninspiring layout, it’s easy to fall into a living room rut. If you’re in one, we can help you get out of it.

The living room is the darling of interior design. It’s the most central part of the home where we relax, unwind, and enjoy our downtime, both alone and with friends. But despite how much, well, living we do in the living room, it’s also the space that tends to have the most design problems. From lack of space to an uninspiring layout, it’s easy to fall into a living room rut. If you’re in one, we can help you get out of it.

Whether it’s after buying your first home or settling into a new apartment, there comes a time when all of us start getting real about investing in “forever” furniture. You know the pieces — a bed that can survive more than one move, or a designer accent chair you’ve loved for years and know will be a keeper.If you’re ready to invest in a forever piece, consider starting with a sofa.

Sometime in the mid-18th century the fourth Earl of Chesterfield, Philip Stanhope, commissioned a new type of sofa. The resulting design, known for its trademark button tufting and rolled arms, has endured throughout the centuries, with variations making appearances in gentlemen’s’ clubs, fancy English homes, and maybe even your own living room.

If there’s one thing that instantly makes a holiday dinner feel like a fancier occasion, it’s an elegant tablescape. There’s a tendency to do something fussy or spend a lot of money on home decor, but it really takes little more than a few easily sourced materials to create a perfectly festive look. Here’s how we’ve created the striking, rustic tablescape you see above.Most Christmas tree vendors have lots of stray clippings…and nothing to do with them.

If it’s your first time hosting for the holidays, or even if you’re a seasoned expert, planning a dinner soirée or a simple cocktail party can feel like a lot. This time of year, we like to remind ourselves that it’s never as complicated as it seems, even if everyone is a lot busier and expectations are a bit higher. With a few years of holiday hosting under our belt, these are the things we’re trying to remember to keep it simple.

It’s just one room, but a kitchen redo comes with a ton of decisions, both big and small. It’s easy to get lost in the flurry of the big ones, like what layout works best or which countertops suit your style. But the devil is in the details. So, what’s the biggest rookie mistake we see time and time again? It may surprise you, but it’s choosing the wrong faucet!

Air purifier? Check. Natural cleaning products? Check. Wellness-inducing lighting? Hmm, that may be one area of your home you hadn’t considered giving the healthy treatment yet. The truth is, human beings need light to thrive, but the EPA now estimates we spend up to 90% of our time indoors — and most of it is under light that isn’t aligned with our biology.

If you haven’t already heard, it’s the most wonderful time of the year: Blu Dot’s big annual sale is on and going strong until October 27! With 20 percent off their entire site, it’s the ideal opportunity to hop on some of fall’s biggest trends. While all of Blu Dot’s designs are decidedly modern classics, some are so of-the-moment we couldn’t not call them out.

Mark your calendars for November 2, the best night of the year! Clocks turn back, meaning there’s an extra much-needed hour of rest and relaxation for us all. Fall is the perfect time of year to reset your sleep habits. In preparation for the longest night of the year, we partnered with the sleep experts at Nectar by Resident to round up easy tips for making the most of it, from mindful breathing to ensuring you have the right mattress for your sleep style.Do you stare at a screen all day?

Forget Pumpkin Spice Lattes. What really gets us excited every fall is Blu Dot’s Annual Sale. For just a few weeks each year, they offer all of their modern, cheeky designs at 20 percent off. It’s a big sale—and a big deal. So we sifted through their library of furniture, lighting, and more to find some of this year’s best buys. But hurry, because the sale ends October 27.No matter how small your space, a cozy reading/thinking/meditating nook is a must-have.

When I lived in a walk-up in Greenwich Village, the building staircase was so narrow that even a neighbor carrying groceries home could completely block traffic. Obviously, this made moving in a challenge. My roommate went so far as hiring someone to cut his bed in half, move it up the tiny staircase, and reassemble it upstairs. I elected to sleep on an air mattress. Needless to say, we both could have used The Bed, by Thuma. As its name implies, The Bed is not a regular bed.