Houzz

Water in the Landscape: Fabulous Fountains (15 photos)

One of the first things I learned in grad school is that landscape architecture professors hate the term "water feature" (they also hate "hardscape). The second thing was that if you were going to add one to a design, it had to have a purpose in the space, and not just serve as a little asterisk on a...

Make Your Guest Room Work Overtime (12 photos)

When my husband goes through heavy bouts of work travel, as he has over this last month, I retreat into the guest bedroom beside our children's shared bedroom. For some reason I feel more secure that I can be near the kids who, honestly, at 5 and 3 years, don't need me in the night. Yes, being honest,...

Houzz Interview: Kasey's Charming Illinois home (29 photos)

A couple of months ago, we've asked you to recommend home design bloggers for the Houzz interview series. Liza40 recommended Lola B's and we are so happy she did. Kasey from Lola B's has a beautiful home as well as a very...

Four Tips for Creating a Kids' Craft Space (9 photos)

I was woken up this morning by my three year old using me as a shelf for his pipe cleaner collection. Right now, he mostly uses the pipe cleaners to make letter shapes and simple animals, like fish, but he's getting more advanced. And messier.Crafts have been hot here at our house for the past couple...

Brought Up in a Barn (20 photos)

I was waxing nostalgic about Laura Half Pint Ingalls the other day and it inspired me to seek out pictures of barns. The structure of the barn in the landscape instantly conjures a feeling of a simpler time. As agriculture becomes such a big business and the rings of suburbs stretch further and further...

The Soothing Effect of Symmetry (8 photos)

A hallmark of traditional design, symmetry always does a great job of adding "visual calmness" and balance to a room. There's just something about placing items in an almost mirror image that encourages a very soothing and harmonious look and feel. Matching lamps on each side of the bed, identically...

Bringing Symbols of Luck into Home Design (10 photos)

Your home is a place where you should feel lucky. If the home is filled with warmth, love and things that you appreciate then lucky is certainly a feeling that you'll experience. However, you can also add specific symbols to your home to increase luck.Each culture has their own beliefs about what...

Modernizing the A-frame (16 photos)

Ah, the A-frame house. Quirky, as simply geometric as architecture can get, sometimes a bit impractical, but full of retro charm.Lately I feel like A-frames were swimming around me. First, I laughed at the stories in Michael J. Tougais's book about his BEYOND rustic (as you'll guess from the title)...

8 Easy Ways to Bring 'Toile de Jouy' Into Your Home (12 photos)

One of my very favorite patterns/designs for fabrics, wallpaper or even china is, Toile de Jouy, more simply known today as, toile. The origins of this complex pattern go all the way back to the late 1700s when Christophe-Philippe Oberkampt, a young artisan from Bavaria, set up a fabric manufacturing...

Designing for Couples: Tips for a Cozy & Content Home (10 photos)

Discovering how to please both partners in a relationship is one of the best tools I've acquired as an interior designer. Rarely does a couple completely agree on design style. It's my job to find a happy medium between feminine and masculine design elements.Some of these solutions are aesthetic,...

What's In Your Wine Cellar? (12 photos)

When I first joined Houzz, way back in November 2008, I was trying to figure out how to organize and decorate a tiny wine cellar my husband built in a part of our basement that's the size of a large closet. After spending a lot of time with the photos, I decided to take a route I hadn't seen anywhere....

Flower Arrangement: Making Florals Work (12 photos)

Florals. Growing up in Texas, my mind naturally reverts to a sort of eighties country red-white-and-blue-long-live-the-republic sort of aesthetic. Yet, why? Florals in decor have been around since at least the Renaissance, appearing in everything from manor tapestries to rosebud gown embroidery. In every...

Pretty Trash: Wastebaskets In Home Design (10 photos)

Trash cans are one of those things that too many people just don't think about in terms of how they affect a home's design. This functional item is a thing that we all have. Most of us even have more than one in our homes. Why not take the time to choose the trash cans that will add the most decor benefit...

My Dream House (25 photos)

It's Sunday night, I've got a glass of red wine, it's chilly out, the fire is going, and I'm browsing through EXTERIORS on Houzz. Right now my own little cottage is definitely my dream house. However, it's not greedy to pick...

Rethinking the Dinner Party (16 photos)

The dinner party. That private and personalized French-flavored venue for socializing over fine fare, whether the guests be your firm's partners or your old college roomies. This setting can intimidate even the most veteran of hosts without planning (and, yes, practice). The intimidation of the dinner...

Bringing the Citrus for Spring (11 photos)

It is rainy and gray and totally dreary on the East Coast right now (at least where I am) - so I really need a jolt of energy and springtime. Enter citrus colors. Bright yellows, greens, and oranges never fail to make me smile. They have the same effect on the end of winter that juicy oranges, lemons,...

Quick! Look Up! Don't Miss That Kitchen Ceiling! (12 photos)

A design element that often goes unadorned as a result of being unconsidered, the ceiling of a kitchen or nearby breakfast area can be an unexpected, and creative, focal point. Think of the ceiling in the opposite way as you might otherwise - that is, a VERY important design element which closely...

10 Tips for Making Kid Rooms Modern (12 photos)

Do you have modern tastes and an aversion to having wallpaper border with duckies on it? You don't have to craft some plywood room straight out of Unhappy Hipsters. There are tons of ways to keep a room age-appropriate and aesthetically pleasing. Many of the companies that produce furniture for kids...

Building Built-Ins: They're Really Just A Bunch of Boxes (13 photos)

While free-standing furniture can look beautiful and provide ample storage, size-wise it may not always work into your space plan. If this is the case, you may consider blending storage into the room so that it looks like a part of the house itself. Built-in cabinetry lets you achieve...

Adding a Full Rainbow of Color to your Home (10 photos)

I have compiled a number of different ideabooks here on Houzz that show off different color combinations. However, I do know that some people have a tough time narrowing down their design choices to just a single pair of colors. Some people want to use all of the colors of the rainbow in their decor....

Ideabook 911: SVMOM Needs Some Entryway Honesty! (9 photos)

I noticed svmom's very astute question in The Buzz the other day and wanted to have everyone pitch in and help answer it! I think it's one we all have asked when we see a space like the one in the first image below.Alright... for those of you with "nooks"... do they normally look this organized?...

Does Anyone Really Know What Time It Is? (14 photos)

I do, I do! It's time to consider adding some wonderful clocks into your decorating scheme. I know what youre thinking, clocks are sooo boringand who needs them with computers, mircrowaves and cell phones broadcasting the time all throughout the day?Clocks do so much more than just tell the...

How to Use Vintage Classics in Your Home (8 photos)

What's the easiest way to create a unique, stylish home that doesn't look like the page of a catalog? Vintage furniture, of course! Not only do vintage pieces bring a sense of history to a space, but purchasing existing furniture (re-using) is also a green practice. Bonus!A few things to keep in...

Making Maximalism Work (13 photos)

The other day, Becky posted an ideabook all about totally uncluttered, modern living rooms. That is, actually, my style - I like a nice clean room - but it also made me go in...

Order in the Chaos (11 photos)

I can be aesthetically schizophrenic. On one hand, I need order and organization before I literally start to emotionally break down. I need systems. I need to not trip on shoes and sit on lego pieces or wonder where I set my phone. I love this orderly and hopeful time of year. I clean out closets for...

10 Tips for Making Your Laundry Room Better (10 photos)

I always wanted to have a laundry room. As a kid, we had our washer and dryer tucked into a hallway closet. In my first house, the washer and dryer were actually located outside (what a pain!) And these days I live in an apartment with a shared laundry space (blech). Someday, I'm going to have a laundry...

Keeping Clutter at Bay: Modern Living Rooms (22 photos)

I've been in serious decluttering mode since January 1. In order to keep myself from sputtering out and giving up, I check in each month and review what I have accomplished. Then I make a list of just how far I have to go. I also try to grab some inspiration material each month like the March Oprah magazine...

Mantel Mania: Sprucing The Space Above Your Fireplace (8 photos)

If you have a fireplace, it's more than likely the focal point of your room. But decorating the mantel can be challenging, especially if it's extra-long. If you over-accessorize, the fireplace will feel cluttered, not relaxing. If you leave the mantel bare, the fireplace feels unfinished. Finding a...

Denim (17 photos)

From Alexa Chung chatting it up about denim in the British Vogue to recent runway show displays like Stella McCartney's tank dress to full-window shop dressings, denim is in the current fashion spotlight. And no wonder: ever classic, ever the hint of casual Americana, denim never fades away.As always,...

A Touch of Chinoiserie (17 photos)

What is Chinoiserie? Chinoiserie, a French term, signifying "Chinese-esque", refers to a recurring theme in European artistic styles since the seventeenth century, which reflect Chinese artistic influences. It is characterized by the use of fanciful imagery of an imaginary China, by asymmetry in format...