Furniture
Gray is the new black at IKEA
As publisher of The Design File, I was excited to be invited to a press preview of the new IKEA products and catalog at the company’s store in West Chester, Ohio.
While there, I was struck by the emergence of the color gray – in wood tones, upholstery and textiles.
I wasn’t particularly surprised. Gray is [...]
Add a little extra counter space in the kitchen
My sister is moving with her husband and my adorable nieces to Fort Wayne, a great city in northeast Indiana where they’ve rented a beautiful old house that will be perfect for them in most every way – save the kitchen.
That’s not a complaint. The kitchen is functional, my sister says.
But like many old [...]
A colorful kids room to inspire your own design
Over at The Design File, I love posting about fun and colorful kids’ bedrooms. A little boy or girl’s room is one of those places where you can go a little crazy with color and accessories.
That’s one of the reasons I love this bedroom by Studio M, home of some very talented folks in Tampa, [...]
Be creative with your side tables
You don’t actually need a table to get the function of a side table.
So over at The Design File, we’ve been exploring other furnishings or objects you can use as place to set a drink or keep the alarm clock. And some of our ideas won’t cost you a cent because they’re already [...]
Easy decor changes you can make today
Over at The Design File, I love offering decorating ideas so easy you can have them finished at the end of the day.
So I’m excited to piggyback on a feature at MyHomeIdeas.com – the central website for great magazines like Sunset, Coastal Living and Real Simple. The site is featuring some great easy tips.
Here’s one: [...]
Tips for finding a second-hand treasure to remake
Over at The Design File last week, I told readers about Curbly’s newest addition to it’s Make It! how-to library: Thrift Store Chic. It’s a collection of 14 inspiring, budget-friendly makeovers of thrift store finds, including some by my favorite DIYer Shelly Leer of Flipt Studio. Read the post about it here.
So it’s fun today [...]
Color modernizes traditional chandeliers
I’ve become just addicted to the House of Turquoise blog, where writer Erin features some of the most beautiful homes and rooms I’ve ever seen.
One of my favorite recent posts highlighted turquoise chandeliers, which got me thinking about how adding color to an otherwise traditional lighting fixture can really make it fun and modern.
Check out [...]
Side-by-side matching chairs are designer favorite
In the first two Design Translation challenges we completed over at The Design File, our living rooms had side-by-side matching chairs. I thought it was a coincidence. But nope. Designer rooms everywhere have pairs of chairs — almost always shown sitting right next to the other.
I actually love the trend. It’s really sharp. Look at [...]






