Many people seeking to freshen their interiors, will paint walls or swap out their furniture.  Swapping out furniture could get costly with the skyrocketing prices of new furniture and the loss of value on old furniture.  One of the most cost-effective practices is to update your old pieces or upcycling furniture pieces from yard sales, thrift shops and consignment stores. Upcycled: Objects reused in such a way as to create a product of higher quality or value than the original Let’s say you have friends over every Friday for game night and you find yourself setting up the bar on you ..read more

As shoppers move from the cheaply made mass-produced home décor to pieces that are solid and timeless, a trend is rising in Traditional Rug purchases, particularly in rugs that have floral designs or appear worn or distressed.  Persian rugs are still the most desirable and command some of the highest prices.  Particularly in the U.S., where Persian rugs have been blocked from imports for years.   Oriental rugs are a less expensive option toward acquiring traditional carpets.  Persian rugs start at $50 per square foot currently, whereas Oriental rugs start at $15 per square ..read more

Open-space design comes with challenges in separating the different uses in a living area.  New demands in our homes have increased the desire for some separation. Just making small divisions can provide more privacy and create the illusion of more space.  For example, if you have a breakfast nook at the end of a kitchen, and the kitchen overlooks the family room, adding light and airy curtain panels on each side of the breakfast nook entrance will create a cozy tea time (and iPad surfing) area. Adding a sofa table or sideboard behind the couch will also separate the kitchen space fr ..read more

You just inherited all of the family heirloom furniture. You are at first excited to have such well-made, ornate furnishings. Then you unpack and place in your rooms only to realize that you are starting to look like a museum rather than a home. (I like museums) What do you do? There are many ways to weave heirloom furniture in to a modern home. The two most effective changes in modernizing the pieces are 1) lightening up the tone of the room or 2) changing the dated hardware. Changing hardware is an easy application as long as the new pieces align in the same spot as the old. Lightening the r ..read more

From Modern and Formal to Rustic and Comfortable, we are all over the board in our choices this year. Living rooms and Master Suites are bringing in the outdoors through floral prints, jute coverlets and wood shades/shutters.  Vintage Hawaiian prints are returning, along with floor cushions in velvet, leather and wool.  Biophilic Design Principles are the underlying guide toward merging nature with our interiors.  “If design doesn’t focus on aspects of the natural world that contribute to human health and productivity in the age-old struggle to be fit and survive, it’s not bioph ..read more

The EPA says that the most effective way to reduce waste is to not create it in the first place. Making a new product requires raw materials from the earth, consuming energy and creating greenhouse gases to fabricate the product and transport it to wherever it is to be sold. Recycling is defined as waste material set aside to be reused or the action of converting waste into reusable material (Oxford Languages). The first part of this definition requires material to be heated, melted, and reconstituted. The second part of this definition requires reusing the item over and over. Recycling works ..read more

A yard sale is where people sell things they no longer want from a table outside their house. Some will sell from boxes or atop blankets on their lawn. A garage sale is essentially in the same category as yard sale but originally was limited to items in the garage. An Estate Sale is an auction and sale of substantial materials owned by someone wishing to downsize or facilitate a move. Estate Sales are held in the home, with all of the items still in place typically. While some people will hire professionals to come in and advise on current values to assist the family in collecting the highest ..read more

Once COVID “arrived” in the USA, companies and factories affected by their lockdown and reduction in manpower began cancelling and postponing upcoming supply orders. This in turn reduced the amount of transportation and shipping across and to the USA. Meanwhile, consumers in the USA continued to shop for anti-COVID supplies and home sanctuary improvement. Since stores were closed, consumer demand spiked as they restricted their purchases through the internet. However, First Responders and Hospitals required masks, alcohol, breathing devices, oxygen stat, which took precedence over office suppl ..read more