Eron Rauch
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Mark Hoyle Originally, this 3700 SF two level eclectic farmhouse from the mid 1980’s underwent design changes to reflect a more colonial style. Now, after being completely renovated with additional 2800 SF living space, it’s combined total of 6500 SF boasts an Energy Star certification of 5 stars. Approaching this completed home, you will meander along a new driveway through the dense buffer of trees until you reach the clearing, and then circle a tiered fountain on axis with the front entry accentuating the symmetrical main structure. Many of the exterior changes included enclosing the front porch and rear screened porch, replacing windows, replacing all the vinyl siding with and fiber cement siding, creating a new front stoop with winding brick stairs and wrought iron railings as will as other additions to the left and rear of the home. The existing interior was completely fro the studs and included modifying uses of many of the existing rooms such as converting the original dining room into an oval shaped theater with reclining theater seats, fiber-optic starlight ceiling and an 80” television with built-in surround sound. The laundry room increased in size by taking in the porch and received all new cabinets and finishes. The screened porch across the back of the house was enclosed to create a new dining room, enlarged the kitchen, all of which allows for a commanding view of the beautifully landscaped pool. The upper master suite begins by entering a private office then leads to a newly vaulted bedroom, a new master bathroom with natural light and an enlarged closet. The major portion of the addition space was added to the left side as a part time home for the owner’s brother. This new addition boasts an open plan living, dining and kitchen, a master suite with a luxurious bathroom and walk–in closet, a guest suite, a garage and its own private gated brick courtyard entry and direct access to the well appointed pool patio. And finally the last part of the project is the sunroom and new lagoon style pool. Tucked tightly against the rear of the home. This room was created to feel like a gazebo including a metal roof and stained wood ceiling, the foundation of this room was constructed with the pool to insure the look as if it is floating on the water. The pool’s negative edge opposite side allows open views of the trees beyond. There is a natural stone waterfall on one side of the pool and a shallow area on the opposite side for lounge chairs to be placed in it along with a hot tub that spills into the pool. The coping completes the pool’s natural shape and continues to the patio utilizing the same stone but separated by Zoysia grass keeping the natural theme. The finishing touches to this backyard oasis is completed utilizing large boulders, Tempest Torches, architectural lighting and abundant variety of landscaping complete the oasis for all to enjoy.

Budget Blinds blackout roller shades, photo credit installer Adam Brannick
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Full-overlay Rustic Beech cabinets in the "Charleston" door style and "Briarwood" finish. Village Home Stores
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One of the biggest shifts in home design over the past few years has been a move away from matchy-matchy, big-box decor toward spaces that feel personal, layered, and collected over time. If you've been searching for ways to add that "collected" quality to your own home, hand-carved wooden accent pieces are one of the most effective — and most overlooked — tools for achieving it. Here's how to use them well, where they work best, and what to avoid. Why Collected Spaces Read as More Designed Design professionals often talk about the difference between a "decorated" room and a "collected" one. A decorated room looks like it was purchased all at once from a single catalog. A collected room looks like it evolved — pieces gathered over time, each with its own texture, material, and story. Wooden objects, such as these hand-carved wooden ducks, contribute to that collected feeling almost instantly, for a simple reason: no two pieces are exactly alike. Unlike resin or plastic decor cast from a single mold, hand-carved pieces carry small variations — a slightly different grain pattern, a unique brushstroke, a subtle asymmetry — that read as authentic rather than mass-produced. That authenticity is what separates a space that feels curated from one that feels furnished.   Where Hand-Carved Wooden Accents Work Best Entry tables and consoles. A single carved piece paired with a stack of books or a low bowl creates an intentional first impression without overwhelming a small surface. Open shelving. Bookshelves benefit enormously from three-dimensional objects breaking up rows of spines. Tuck a carved piece between book stacks at varying heights to create visual rhythm. Mantels. Grouping in odd numbers — three or five — with varied heights creates a naturally balanced display. Mix in a taper candle or two for additional height variation. Kitchen windowsills. Smaller carved pieces catch natural light beautifully and add warmth to an otherwise utilitarian space. Nightstands and dressers. A single small piece here adds personality without requiring extra surface space.   Styling Principles That Make the Difference

1. Let one material contrast do the work.Wood against smooth ceramic, matte metal, or glass creates textural interest without needing additional colors or patterns. If your space already has a lot of wood tones (flooring, cabinetry, furniture), look for carved pieces in a slightly different wood finish to keep them from disappearing into the background.
2. Odd numbers, varied heights.This is a foundational styling rule for a reason — it works. Groupings of three tend to feel more intentional than pairs, and varying the height of each object (using books or small risers if needed) prevents a flat, lined-up look.
3. Give each piece breathing room.One of the most common styling mistakes is overcrowding a surface. A single well-chosen carved piece with negative space around it reads as more expensive and more intentional than five pieces crammed together.
4. Rotate seasonally.Because hand-carved pieces are often designed as individual characters or figures, many collections include seasonal or themed variations. Swapping a neutral piece for a seasonal one is a low-effort way to refresh a space without a full redesign.
5. Mix textures, not just objects.Pair a carved wooden piece with something soft (a linen table runner), something reflective (a brass tray), and something organic (fresh greenery or dried botanicals) to build a layered vignette rather than a single-note display.

  A Practical Example: Wooden Duck Ornaments One category of hand-carved decor that's gained popularity for exactly these reasons is DCUK wooden duck ornaments — individually hand-carved from bamboo root and hand-painted, with each piece designed as its own character. Because every duck is genuinely unique, even collectors who own several ducks end up with a display that feels organically gathered rather than purchased as a set. These work particularly well in the entry table, shelving, and mantel scenarios described above, precisely because their small footprint and varied "poses" allow for the kind of asymmetrical, breathing-room styling that reads as professionally designed. For readers wanting to source authentic pieces rather than mass-produced imitations, Ducks-N-Stuff maintains one of the largest U.S. selections of genuine DCUK ducks, which is worth knowing given how many imitation products have entered the market as the style has grown in popularity. What to Avoid Don't cluster too many pieces together. Even beautiful individual objects lose their impact when grouped without spacing or hierarchy. Don't ignore scale. A tiny carved piece on a large mantel will get visually lost; match the scale of your object to the scale of your surface. Don't skip the base layer. Placing objects directly on a bare shelf often looks unfinished. A small tray, stack of books, or piece of fabric underneath grounds the display. Don't buy in bulk all at once. Part of what makes collected spaces feel authentic is that they were, in fact, collected — gradually, with intention. Building a display over several months (or years) produces better results than a single shopping trip. The Bottom Line Hand-carved wooden accents are a low-cost, high-impact way to move a space from "decorated" to "collected." The key isn't the object itself so much as how it's styled: thoughtful groupings, varied heights, adequate spacing, and a willingness to build the display over time rather than all at once. Done well, a few carved pieces can do more to make a room feel personal and finished than an entire shelf of matched decor ever could.  

**I. Spatial Composition & Architectural Volume** The image frames a primary bathroom vanity zone through a deliberately compressed aperture — the vertical edge of a rift-sawn oak door jamb occupying the left third of the frame, functioning as a proscenium that stages the composition beyond. This device establishes a layered sightline sequence: foreground threshold, mid-ground vanity plane, and a tertiary reflected depth revealed in the mirrored cabinetry, where a travertine-clad shower enclosure and polished nickel showerhead appear as a spatial echo. The result is an interior that reads as considerably more expansive than its actual footprint, a classic strategy of volumetric borrowing through specular surfaces. Architecturally, the wall is resolved as a single continuous joinery composition — a full-height run of flush-fronted oak millwork with mirrored upper cabinet fronts, articulated only by hairline reveals rather than applied hardware or framing. This shadow-gap detailing establishes rhythm through negation, allowing the plane to remain monolithic while acknowledging its constituent modules. The vanity itself is conceived as a solid stone monolith, a thick-slab plinth with a generous mitred apron that cantilevers over recessed oak drawer fronts below, the base set back to create a shadowed float line. Geometry throughout is orthogonal and rectilinear: the square undermount basin, the deck's stepped perimeter, the horizontal datum of the backsplash terminating precisely at the mirror's lower edge. The only curvilinear intrusions are the capsule-form sconces and the ceramic vessel, deliberate soft counterpoints within an otherwise strictly Cartesian field. **II. Materiality, Color & Texture** The palette is a study in tonal adjacency rather than contrast — a restrained duet of oak and veined stone, held within a narrow chromatic band of taupe, greige, and warm sand. The joinery appears to be quarter- or rift-sawn white oak in a matte, open-grain finish, its tight vertical figure reading as a subtle striation that lends verticality and tactile warmth without pattern-making. Against this, the stone — a silver travertine or vein-cut quartzite with pronounced linear striation — provides the composition's dominant graphic energy. Crucially, the fabricator has book-matched and continued the veining from backsplash to deck to apron, so the stone's fluvial banding reads as a single geological event rather than assembled panels. This vein-matching is the project's most consequential craft decision. Textural interplay is calibrated across three registers: the low-sheen absorbency of the oak, the honed, slightly chalky matte of the stone, and the high-specularity of polished nickel fittings. The wall-mounted lever taps and spout, with their crisp escutcheons and knurl-free tapered levers, introduce a jewel-like precision — cool-toned metal against warm mineral. The white porcelain basin functions as a chromatic pause, the palette's only true neutral. Accent moments are equally disciplined: a ribbed ceramic soap dish holding a block of butter-yellow soap, and a matte bone-white bottle vase carrying hellebores in acid-green — a single saturated note that activates the surrounding earth tones through complementary tension. **III. Lighting, Atmosphere & Style Profile** Natural light enters obliquely and is largely inferred rather than depicted: a soft, diffuse wash across the upper mirror and a pale ceiling plane glimpsed in reflection suggest a clerestory or adjacent glazing beyond the frame. The primary illumination is architectural and task-oriented — two opal glass capsule sconces in polished nickel, surface-mounted directly to the mirrored fronts. Their pill-shaped diffusers emit a soft, omnidirectional glow that flatters skin tones and, critically, provides cross-lighting at facial height rather than the unflattering top-down wash of downlights. The reflected sconce in the mirror doubles the light count perceptually, reinforcing the sense of symmetry and depth. Shadow is used compositionally: the recessed toe of the vanity, the reveal lines in the joinery, and the raking light across the stone's striation all rely on controlled darkness to describe form. The resulting atmosphere is one of hushed, tactile luxury — sensory rather than declarative. Stylistically, the project sits within a contemporary Warm Minimalism, inflected with the material gravity of Milanese modernism and traces of a Japandi sensibility in its reverence for grain, joinery reveals, and the studied placement of a single floral gesture. There is nothing decorative in the additive sense; ornament is entirely subsumed into material and detail. The design's authority derives from restraint and fabrication rigor — the mitre, the reveal, the vein-match — positioning it as a mature exercise in what might be called quiet monumentality: a small room made consequential through the discipline of its surfaces.

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Landscape & Pool Design: Root Design Company Photo credits: Jessica Carr
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Modern luxury meets warm farmhouse in this Southampton home! Scandinavian inspired furnishings and light fixtures create a clean and tailored look, while the natural materials found in accent walls, casegoods, the staircase, and home decor hone in on a homey feel. An open-concept interior that proves less can be more is how we’d explain this interior. By accentuating the “negative space,” we’ve allowed the carefully chosen furnishings and artwork to steal the show, while the crisp whites and abundance of natural light create a rejuvenated and refreshed interior. This sprawling 5,000 square foot home includes a salon, ballet room, two media rooms, a conference room, multifunctional study, and, lastly, a guest house (which is a mini version of the main house).

Paul Hester
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Makeup mirrors are a woman’s or a man’s best friend, they can save you from foundation lines, overgrown eyebrows, and other preventable beauty blunders. Before shopping for a quality makeup mirror, we recommend narrowing down your choices by learning which type of makeup mirror will not only look great in your bathroom, but have you looking your best as well. Magnifying mirrors will give you a new perspective on your skin while cosmetic mirrors are designed to give you red carpet style in the comfort of your own home. Magnifying mirrors can also be found as double face mirrors, with different magnifications on each mirror face. The most popular magnification is 5x as it is ideal for brow tweezing and perfecting eyeliner. Facial mirrors are great for the man of the bathroom and make shaving safer and easier. Lighted Makeup Mirrors are ideal if you want to make the most of each brush, line, and stroke when applying your makeup. Wall Mounted Makeup Mirrors are becoming increasingly popular, we know find them as a standard in hotel rooms. Many of them have extendable arms, which gives you the freedom to adjust it as needed for better lighting or positioning. Additionally, many lighted mirrors today are also wall mounted, which gives you another option to choose from. The best part is several lighted makeup mirrors are now battery powered, which saves you the headaches of hardwired installations. Free Standing Makeup Mirrors, probably the most popular option in this category. Free standing makeup mirrors are fashionable and trendy. They are easy to move from one room to the other or simply closer to a window or better lighting. No matter the type of makeup mirror you choose, you can always rely on one to help you transform into a professional makeup artist and aid you in your quest for flawless skin. Browse our large selection of European makeup mirror collections:

A vertically stacked glass tile shower in an earthy and warm matte yellow brings sunny serenity to this modern bathroom. TILE SHOWN 2x12 Glass Tile in Falcon Matte

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