Decorating

In tiny homes where a single room often serves multiple functions, color can separate a space into zones with different functions. If your bedroom is also your office and your living room is also your dining room, try using paint as a visual divider to section off areas—without sacrificing an inch of livable space.

In Hong Kong, one of the most densely packed cities in the world, a young couple presented their architects with a seemingly impossible challenge: designing an apartment that would include a large kitchen, a home theater, a bathroom with a tub, and sleeping spaces for the couple and their overnight guests. The space also had to acommodate the couple’s three cats — and all this in 309 square feet.

Exposed pipes and radiators—the bane of apartment, loft, and refurbished factory dwellers everywhere. As if it wasn’t bad enough that they prevent you from nudging your bed directly against the wall, they interrupt the look of a space as they sweep across the wall or ceiling. Here’s some inspiration to help you make peace with your pipes by painting them, wrapping them, even hand-knitting them a colorful cozy.

There’s no denying that exposed brick walls always command attention. But what if you want to further enhance your beautiful brick? We’ve got wall decor ideas to help your enviable architectural detail command even more attention. Adding a subtle wash of white paint to a brick wall’s surface makes for a complex texture. The beautiful wall above seen in Rachel & Adam’s Cozy, Classic Clinton Hill Brownstone.

To modern eyes, the bathing suits of the past may seem excessively, even hilariously, modest. But more than 100 years ago, these getups were scandalous. So scandalous, in fact, that clever folks in the 18th century figured out a way for female bathers to get into the water without ever being seen in their bathing suit at all. It all involved an ingenious little device called the bathing machine.

We’re officially launched! For all of you who are in the market for a sofa and want something fabulously classic, comfortable and well priced, here’s The Maxwell (with special discount just for readers), the first in a whole collection designed in collaboration with Interior Define. Designing this perfect sofa was a process that took nearly a year, but it was worth it.

Most sofas are well-behaved. They have a back and a seat and legs and maybe arms, and they look, well, like a sofa. These are not those sofas. These sofas (if you can even call a giant cat a sofa) dare to reimagine the very idea of the sofa, pushing ordinary furniture to weird and wild and even wonderful extremes. Above: It’s always nice to have a cat sit on your lap, but what if the tables were turned and you could curl up in your cat’s lap?

It is a fact of life that buildings, as they age, inevitably fall apart. We Americans are not quite comfortable with this. We like everything to be shiny and new: we like all our buildings and our interior finishes to have the smooth sameness of youth. But the Japanese have developed a way of dealing with this. They have, in fact, embraced the idea that sometimes fixing broken things can make them even better and more beautiful than when they were new.

When it comes to kicking up your curb appeal, there’s one particular project that pays off: Painting the front door. It’s easy, it’s inexpensive, and it has a magical way of transforming the way your entire home looks. Red, white, black and navy are great choices if you’re after a classic look. But to really turn heads when people walk or drive by, try on one of these unusual shades.

Somewhere along the way, the trend of hanging, bare-bulb light fixtures went from being a new trend in the bedroom to a look that’s here to stay. Read the reasons why this look has gotten so popular, see inspiration from gorgeous bedsides and find ways you can buy or DIY this look. For one, the bare-bulb look is incredibly versatile; it’s a simple look that works with a lot of very different decor styles.

The home you grow up in influences not only your homekeeping habits, but your sense of style. It’s the “mother tongue” of home decor, the factor that surrounds you, gets into, and comes out of you. Here are four things I learned from my dear mother which influence my own surroundings to this day. Do the best you can with what you have. When my mother returned to the United States with two young children after seven years abroad, she was basically starting over.

Sunrooms capture the best of the outdoors—being close to nature and soaking in sunlight—without the downsides (like bugs and extreme temperatures). Just looking at photos of them can take your stress level down a notch. But, these gorgeous spaces aren’t simply fun to look at, they can also offer inspiration and ideas for your home, even if you don’t have a sunroom of your own.

Lots of people aspire to make their home decor modern, but if you’re not careful, modern can become cold, stale and uninteresting. The cure for a mod overdose? Something natural. Like a touch of authentic, organic, real wood. Here are eight rooms to show you how it’s done. This raw wood bar top is the perfect addition to Corianne Burton‘s kitchen, as seen on her Instagram.

Can you spot the amazingly adorable, easily doable, room divider situation in this Oakland loft? It’s a simple idea, but also incredibly smart storage-wise. And the result isn’t just a fresh room divider idea for an open-space loft, it’s an idea that could help divide space or add additional storage in a studio apartment or bedroom.

For some, the choice of what type of coffee table is easy; an intuitive design decision. Or, maybe it’s even been decided for you, if it’s been inherited from a roommate, partner or family member. For others, any number of variables—from unusual living room layouts to oversized furniture to kids or pets—can confuse the issue. Do you need a coffee table to set stuff down on while you watch TV or entertain friends? Or does the room feel too open or naked without it?

Upgrading to a bigger space? Good on you! You’ll love waking up every morning without the guarantee of smashing your shins on the foot of the bed as you walk around it. But you might find your old stuff looks a little, well, small in that new, more spacious apartment.

Mahogany, light pecan, natural, walnut—the list of wood finishes is vast. And the possibility is great that you might find yourself with several furniture pieces with different finishes that you’d like to use in the same room. So how do you design a room and make sure that your wood finishes don’t clash? Today’s Frequently Asked Home question: Can You Have Different Wood Finishes in the Same Room?

Every home has something to teach and each small home in the Small Cool contest holds lessons and tricks for living well while living small. Here’s some wisdom from today’s entries → (above) A lofted bed with tons of storage makes Helene Louise’s small apartment work. And, it was a DIY project so she could customize it to her exact needs. A bench makes so much sense in a small home because you can move it around to suit your needs. Extra dinner guests?

Whether you lived through it (and loved it) the first time around or fell in love with it when Mad Men brought it back, the truth is that mid-century modern design elements have transcended trend and become a classic look that many people use in their decor, in doses big and small. This post isn’t about mixing in MCM details with your existing decor to achieve an eclectic look.

It’s almost unbelievable that this studio apartment is only 300 square feet; it looks so much bigger. You can tell this is a home that feels airy—not cluttered in the slightest. Even more impressive? Two people live here. Here’s the scoop on why this small space does such a good job of looking spacious… First of all, Joe and Keith’s Oakland apartment has tall ceilings and massive windows that let lots of natural light in.

Are you staring at the blank wall above your sofa with hammer in hand, afraid to punch the first hole to hang your art? Or maybe you’ve already hung art above your sofa, but every time you look at your handiwork, something feels “off.” Hanging art isn’t rocket science, but with so many different variables, it can sometimes be difficult to get just right.

If you are always on the hunt for bold decor ideas or elements that aren’t yet a trend, then you’ll appreciate this list of eye-popping and heart-stopping design details for any room in your home. Matte black in the kitchen is always sexy. Adding metallic finishes like silver can add sophistication to any space.

Kristina & Jason’s Gorgeous, Graphic Australian Home We often think about the elements of a room that remain at eye level: furniture, artwork, accessories, and so forth. But it can be just as important to think about everything that’s going on above your head. Here are some ways that you can bring the eye higher in a room, as well as some examples to show just how open spaces can feel when they aren’t afraid to soar overhead.

Whether you think of this as good news or terrible news, in the world of design, the ’80s are back in a big way. So we thought this would be a good time to do a brief dip into the history of the Memphis Design Group, an Italian design and architecture collective whose wild, colorful, postmodern style defined the look of the 80s.

Sometimes you fall in love with a piece of art, envision it in a certain perfect spot in your home…and are totally disappointed when it turns out to be too small. Don’t find another place for it just yet! There are four easy ways you can make a too-small piece of art seems bigger and bolder. Like the example above, using items like thick, textured rope or ribbon to “hang” the art can make it feel a lot more substantial than the actual pieces are.

Recently I wrote about a big, beautiful new trend for the home: blooms and branches displayed in big, oversized vases. Many of you loved the look, but wanted to know: where does one find a vase this big? So I’ve rounded up a few options. A few things I was looking for: vases made of clear glass (minimal, works with any decor, shows off flowers well), and that measured 12 inches or more in at least one dimension.

We often talk about tiny houses and small space living as if they’re a new thing, but the truth is that little houses have been around for years (and were, in fact, once the norm for a majority of Americans). Case in point: this 85-year-old home, built by one of his disciples in the style of Frank Lloyd Wright, whose compact 552 square foot floorplan provides plenty of inspiration for the small houses of today.

When you’re decorating, you might feel pressure to add variety to your space by layering in as many different ideas or influences as you can. But, just like a wardrobe template, having a home decor “uniform” actually makes creating a beautiful space even easier. That’s a big lesson that I took away from Kristina & Jason’s Gorgeous, Graphic Australian Home.

Michael Reeves via Dering Hall We all know that mirrors are fantastic for making a space appear larger than it is. It goes like this: available light + reflective surface(s) = much more light = greater sense of space. The problem is that a mirrored wall can sometimes feel vaguely commercial, or even cliche, if the application is off. Here are seven mirrored walls that are anything but, and that pack a big (spatial) punch as well. The lead image is of a Michael Reeves-designed home in London.

Coat hooks. I mean… there’s not really much you can do there, right? (Wrong.) With one or two or 20 standard coat hooks and a little bit of ingenuity, you can create some pretty stellar little hallway hacks worthy of bearing an artsy label like “entryway installment” (rather than dull old coat rack).

BLOCK722 architects via Sigreki Anna Interiors “Need” is, of course, a relative term. But take a quick look at these over-the-top-glam details and tell me you don’t at least want one of these in your life. 1. (above) This sunken soaking tub in a summer house by BLOCK722 is to die for. View not included. Roundhouse Design via This is Glamorous 2. This completely necessary built-in ice bucket for Champagne. 3.

We’re all kids at heart. So why can’t we decorate like children? Not to say we should start pinning up posters of teen idols or buying superhero sheets, but we should be able to channel the kind of reckless abandon of a child with a crayon and a coloring book. There are no rules, only color. This bold Chicago apartment seems to have it down, with three rule-breaking color details that are just rebellious enough to work for anyone, in any space.

Good light can make or break a space, and unfortunately natural lighting is probably the one thing about a room that’s hardest to change. So when you’re faced with a space that has very few windows (or none at all), how do you cope? We’ve got some ideas. Multiply the light you do have. If you have a window, use translucent shades or sheer curtains for privacy, instead of blocking it with heavy window treatments.

Doors. We just take them for granted, don’t we? They’re the things we walk through to get to another room or the things that hide the mess in the cabinet or closet. But the humble door actually offers a major design opportunity, and the right color, material, or detail can more than make a space. Read on for nine examples of doors that are anything but ordinary. In the lead image, grey-painted wardrobe doors from UK joinery company Lawrence Walsh get a stylish, geometric twist.

Think about it: when you go to a new friend’s house for the first time, what’s the first thing you look at? The numbers, of course. House numbers may seem like a small thing, but they’re so crucial to first impressions. These days there are a myriad of interesting, modern numbers that will identify your house to the world — and show off your style, too. Above: Neutra house numbers, $27 each from DWR. Modern Avalon collection brushed nickel house numbers, $15.

We’ve featured quite a few places by A+B Kasha before: this Paris-based real estate and design firm excels at creating meticulously detailed apartments where just the walls and floors themselves are a work of art. My current favorite project of theirs is a little jewel of a one-bedroom, 270 square feet of perfection tucked away on the top floor of a 19th-century building in Paris’ 6th arrondissement.

Project by: Julia Mack Design Location: Brooklyn Heights, New York Studio apartments are tough for lots of reasons. Like, you know, having to fit everything you own in one room and having to eat in the same room you sleep in. Though the photo above of a 640 square foot studio apartment in New York City is far from unlivable, it does feel a bit busy, and the big, heavy, full bookcase as a divider is a little imposing.

Clean lines keep it chic, and deep seats and comfy cushions make it a really livable sofa for real people’s real homes. Oh, and the affordable price tag is a pretty great feature, too. The IKEA SÖDERHAMN sofa line has been on the market for a couple years now, and that means designers and dwellers have had ample time to take the piece home and show us myriad ways to style it.

Bathrooms have this bizarre disposition to be judged. Besides the whole peeking-in-the-medicine-cabinet trope, I guess we’re likely to evaluate people’s bathrooms because it’s the one place where we, as guests, get a chance to linger alone and really contemplate the personal style of the person who’s invited us over. For that reason, if you’re out to impress, the bathroom is one of the first rooms you need to work on.

Many a beautiful kitchen have been built on a foundation of pretty normal, neutral cabinetry. But if you ever have the opportunity to renovate a kitchen from scratch and add in something really spectacular in the realm of cabinetry, it’s like a shortcut to great style. Above: I’m sorry, but how cool is this oversized-pegboard-style upper cabinet area in this tall Amsterdam schoolhouse-turned apartment, from Dwell? We can see this evolving over time to be used exactly as you need.

We have strong associations with the color pink: most people think of it as a ‘girly’ color. But have you ever stopped to think about why that is? It might surprise you to learn that this strange association of color with gender can be traced to just one person: 1950s First Lady Mamie Eisenhower. The post – World War II era, in America, was a period of unprecedented prosperity.

Gisbert Pöppler via Dustjacket Attic Kitchen cabinets: they’re necessary, but let’s face it—they aren’t always the most interesting pieces of furniture. But that doesn’t necessarily have to be the case! Here are imaginative kitchens that make use of large, antique pieces of furniture in addition to regular kitchen cabinets. They’re drama-filled, glamorous, and practical. Read on to find out why you may want to give this trend a try.

It’s a unique problem, but no less worthy of attention than how to dress a gallery wall or what to do when your kitchen’s too small. The presence of a piano in the room can be seriously demanding on decor. Here are more than a dozen rooms who’ve mastered it. Do you have a piano at home?

We’ve always said that art is one of the most important elements in a room, one of the things that helps it feel complete. But this, like a lot of other decorating mantras, is more of a suggestion than a commandment, and as with a lot of other rules there are plenty of exceptions. Case in point: these eight rooms with no art (or very minimal art) and almost completely bare walls. Instead of seeming boring or incomplete these rooms read as balanced and delightfully minimal.

You guys. It’s February, the days are dark, and I really need some color in my life right now. I saw the photo above pop up on my Pinterest feed, and it was an immediate panacea to my mood: rich mustard yellow and pale mauve-pink is an unexpected, invigorating, and straight-up cheerful combination. Read on for more examples and ideas for this surprising duo.

What we have here is a dozen unabashed, Warhol- and Lichtenstein-inspired rooms that would look right at home in a pop art museum as they do inside these homes. If you love bright colors and retro styling, get thee to Pinterest and save these shots for later. It’s part aspiration and part inspiration. As big and bold as these rooms are, there are some pretty do-able ideas in here. Do you have any pop art-inspired pieces at home?

In a bit of a rut in the bedroom? I mean, design-wise? (We can’t help with the other thing.) Good news: We’ve collected eight creative, unconventional ideas that will surely refresh your space and give you something to really get excited over when you pop into bed each night. Above: We see a lot of rug layering in living rooms, but it’s fresh for the boudoir.

Why settle for an oversized piece of art when you could have a piece of art that covers the whole wall? These 11 murals will have a big, big impact—hang one on the wall and your decorating job is pretty much done. A quick note to start: a wall mural differentiates from wallpaper in that it does not repeat. It’s an entire scene stretch across a determined width, while wallpaper matches up and repeats indefinitely.

How much joy does your home bring you? Do you have a lot of design moments that make you smile? Do the rooms in your home showcase things that make you happy? Filling your home with visual joy doesn’t need to be a complicated task; we spotted seven easy (and affordable) ways to celebrate happiness using your home in one of our recent tours. (Pictured above) Pick a corner, any corner! Can be a guest room that you don’t go into every day. Can be a cramped bathroom. The laundry room.

It’s Valentine’s Day, which means that the two-lobed shape that we somehow recognize as representing a human heart is suddenly everywhere. There are heart-shaped candies, cards, chocolates, even heart-shaped pizzas. And many years ago, one man had the idea of building a heart-shaped hot tub… and a movement was born.

Tired of looking at your bathroom’s blank or beige walls? You might need some art! And there have been some spectacular ideas to borrow for your own home from the homes we’ve toured here on Apartment Therapy. Above: A DIY mosaic mural on a wall adds whimsy, color and excitement to a bathroom. Art all over: Elizabeth’s bathroom features a black-and-white faux-finish on the floor, writing on the wall (literally) and cut-out, pasted-on clouds on the ceiling.

Track shelving might be the most common in a pantry, office or garage, but if you know how to style it right, it can be beautiful enough to sit front and center right in the living room. Just check out these eight rooms, which each put their own spin on the track shelf thing. Above: Mounting art to the wall between the shelf standards gives this wall unit from Old Brand New a more upscale look.

So you bought an Eames chair because it was cool. It’s okay—so did I. But now when people come over and say, “I like your chair, where did you get that?” it’d be nice to tell them a little more than, “It’s from a designer.” Here are 10 fun facts about your chair that you can throw around at the next cocktail party, because, you know, knowing stuff is also pretty darn cool, too. 1.

You don’t have to remodel to add a lot of extra counter space and storage space to your kitchen — all it takes is a kitchen cart. These little workhorses are a great way to make a small kitchen more workable, or just help you get the most of your space no matter what size it is. We’ve rounded up a few of our favorite kitchen carts (and islands), in a range of prices to suit pretty much any budget. This hardworking IKEA cart is perfect for smaller kitchens.

Let’s face it: as much as we’d all like to think of ourselves as the sort of people who throw dinner parties all the time, the formal dining room is mostly obsolete. So what’s a modern family to do? You can set up a dining table and chairs in there and then let stuff collect on the table (I’m pretty sure this is the default), or you can take it one step further and transform your dining room into a multi-purpose space that you’ll use every day.

It's a versatile workhorse you can use almost anywhere.

...and one that's too big.

Are you looking to carve out a small little spot in a corner of your living room or dining room (or maybe even bedroom) for a work or hobby space? Just a little bit of room that’s all for you to flex your creative muscles? You might find inspiration for what should be in that corner from this beautifully appointed home office set-up.

much Above: We spend a lot of time decorating the space and we’re really proud of our new home. Our place reflects our personalities and passions. See more → Ana and Fabiano’s Cozy Canadian Home Despite our place being small, we love having friends over. We love grilling lakeside at the complex’s pool and then ending the night in our unit. We’ve squeezed as many as 15 friends in, piled on our sectional sofa and gathering around our small dining room table.

Some people have a true knack for gift giving and manage to think of a thoughtful and personal gift for everyone on their list. Then there’s the rest of us who struggle, procrastinate and, often, end up with gifts that are generic, uninspired or wholly unsuitable for the recipient. Well, here’s an idea to simplify your holiday shopping this year: get everyone the same gift.

Humans don’t hibernate, but we do an approximation of it. If you live in the northern climes, chances are there are a few months where you just barely leave the house. During these months your home becomes more important than ever before: you want it to be a place that’s cozy, that’s welcoming, a place where you would feel good being trapped in a blizzard.

Art — framed, sculptural or on canvas — makes a stylish statement to hang on the wall above your bed. Your bed is a natural focal point in your bedroom, so deciding what to do above it is an important task. Go beyond “art,” if you dare, with these eleven stylish ideas that will definitely wow in your bedroom. Create a pattern easier than painting by using vinyl wall stickers. In the bedroom above, a gold polka dot pattern makes for one serious above-the-bed look.

You might not think about coffee table heights as the sort of thing that fluctuates throughout the years, but like any design element, the ideal coffee table height not only changes from room style to room style, but also according to what’s in vogue in living rooms that are being lived in, in the current moment. Low coffee tables are just what they sound like: coffee tables with a top surface that sits a fair bit lower than your usual coffee table find.

Benches look great in hallways and under windows. They function perfectly in an entryway. They’re a surprising but useful addition to a dining room furniture set. But in living rooms they’re often to relegated to the sidelines — along the walls — and usually housing some decor vignette. There’s nothing wrong with benches in your living room looking pretty. But they can do so much more.

If you’re lucky enough to have a guest room, chances are good that you’ll be hosting someone there this holiday season. Of course you want your guests to be comfortable, but even the most dedicated hosts sometimes forget a few things. Before your guests arrive, take a look at this checklist of six guest room must-haves to make their stay as enjoyable as possible. Blankets. Probably the biggest potential source of discomfort for your guests is your home’s temperature.

Though there are some downsides to living in a studio apartment — not having as much space for your stuff, feeling like you’re living in your bedroom — it can be a cozy and fun living experience, too. Stick to these design tricks when decorating a studio apartment and you’ll love studio living. Don’t have a bedroom but do have a closet you can fit a bed into? Or is there a way to drape curtains around your bed to create a private bed nook?

The LACK wall shelf is a much more versatile piece than you might think. By twisting and turning and stacking it, you can put this $49 shelf to work in your home in myriad ways.

As the tiny house movement grows, so does the need for storage. The trick to getting the most out of your space when there’s little to begin with is getting creative and rethinking the purpose of the everyday elements of your home. Here are a few clever tips from Julie that work whether you live on a bus or not! Originally we had planned on doing an IKEA hack from one of their bookcases, but it didn’t feel big enough to store things, or for people to sit or sleep on.

It’s always fun flipping through an IKEA catalog, looking at all the new stuff, and imagining how it might look in our own home. Their winter holiday collection is an extra bonus this time of year, filled with festive decorations and — most importantly — fresh decorating and styling ideas. Above, garland hung from the ceiling above, and around doorways, is perfect when space is at a premium. Create a unique decorative element on the wall using leftover ornaments.

You might think that entertaining — especially during the holidays — is out of the question in your small space. These dining areas can blow that myth out of the water. Look at how these folks make room for cozy and compact dining areas and see if any of these ideas can work for your home. Don’t be afraid to use your sofa on one side and a small table in the middle to carve out a dining space. Floor pillows and stools can always be pulled over for extra seating.

Jenn & Hunter’s Historic Landmark Apartment Traditional rugs are traditional for a reason. Even though they are densely patterned and filled with a multitude of colors, they somehow still manage to go with everything. I’ve rounded up a bunch of rooms from our House Tours that feature these gorgeous rugs—pale, bright, deep, rich, red, blue, yellow: you name it, they’re all here.

Wish you had a living room, bedroom, kitchen or some other room flooded with natural light…but you’re stuck dealing with a few dinky windows that just aren’t getting the job done? There are decorative elements you can add to your home that can help fake more natural light in your dark rooms; try one or more to fake the feel of a room flooded with natural light.