This Flower Is The Bestselling Plant of 2021

This Flower Is The Bestselling Plant of 2021

by | Jul 1, 2022 | Design Inspiration, Style

U.K.-based online garden center Primrose has published a report on the most popular flowering plant of 2021, and it’s neither roses nor tulips, but instead, petunias.

The flower was found to be every gardener’s favorite bloom, according to the company’s sales data, selling more units than any other plant. It’s not hard to see why: petunias are bright and lively, have a sweet scent, and are easy to grow and maintain.

“Perfect in plant pots, among shrubs or in flower beds, petunias can be easily grown almost anywhere outdoors,” wrote Primrose. “They also come in a choice of striking colors, from hot pink to intense purple to rich red.”

Next on the list of 2021’s most popular plants are cherry blossoms, geraniums, apple trees, fuchsias, verbenas, rose bushes, clematis, wisteria, and lavender.

“It’s no surprise that U.K. gardeners opted for well-known, long-established plants in 2021. With such a turbulent year, many of us wanted stability and turned to the trusted, traditional flowers that we know and rely on, like petunias and geraniums,” explained Primrose’s gardening specialist Evie.

“Shades of purple were common too, such as with the popular verbena, wisteria and lavender. Perhaps this was the beginning of the Pantone Color of the Year 2022, Very Peri, as we began to embrace more originality and creativity in our gardens by adding a pop of purple.”

For indoor plants, kalanchoe was the most loved, outselling more than 30 different houseplant types — including monstera and philodendron — and made 19 percent of all houseplant sales. 

“It’s interesting that most of our favorite houseplants are tropical or subtropical, since not many of us could travel in 2021,” said Evie. “For many of us who were missing island hopping across white-sand beaches and soaking up the sunshine, a tropical houseplant could have been a way to bring the holiday back home.”

“Surrounding your home with lots of leafy houseplants is a great way to reconnect with those tropical locations while enjoying the other benefits of plants, like improved mood and better air quality,” she added. 

“We can expect the houseplant takeover to continue in 2022, as Pinterest recently predicted that we will choose plant-based interior design to stay connected with nature — another good reason to invest in plenty of houseplants!”

You can check out Primrose’s full report, which also lists their top 10 bestselling trees, top 10 garden trends for the year, and the trends that withered in 2021. 

Lovesac’s Customizable (and Replaceable!) Storage ‘Sactionals’ Are Perfect for Small Spaces and a Breeze to Move — They’re 25% Off Right Now

Lovesac’s Customizable (and Replaceable!) Storage ‘Sactionals’ Are Perfect for Small Spaces and a Breeze to Move — They’re 25% Off Right Now

by | Jul 1, 2022 | Design Inspiration, Style

If you spend a lot of time at home, life is much more relaxing when you have comfy furniture that makes lounging around feel like a reward. As great as it is to take advantage of these warm and sunny days, the sun can be draining, and you’ll want somewhere shady and cozy to recharge. My family has always made it a priority to furnish our homes with cozy den and patio furniture because we spend the most time there, and Lovesac has been one of our favorites for years, both indoors and outdoors. I’ve spent literal hours sinking into multiple Sacs at once (We have three!) while binging Netflix or unintentionally drifting into an afternoon nap. With small children at home, a perk of the covers is that they can be removed and machine-washed, stress-free. I can’t tell you the number of times my nieces have spilled juice and smushed snacks into the sofa cushions, and the stains have washed out every single time to make the couch look as good as new!

Lovesac also makes giant cloud-like chairs and modular sofas, called Sactionals, that have an array of durable and customizable covers, sizes, and styles; including wedge seats for a curved sofa, rolled arms, and storage seats for blankets, fitness gear, toys, and small items that would otherwise clutter the room. Over 250 mix-and-matchable covers are available (along with free swatches) in a variety of fabrics such as leather, velvet, and convertible 2-in-1 reversible styles. With so many to choose from, you’re sure to find a cover that’s pet-friendly, child-friendly, or one that suits your tastes in general. Most importantly, they fit snugly around the furniture so you aren’t fussing over a poor fit. You can also select accessories and add-ons to further elevate the Sactional, such as a power hub to conveniently charge devices and a Guest Rest Bedding Kit that transforms the sofa into a temporary bed. As a result, it’s a stylish piece of furniture that adapts to your lifestyle as you need it to and not the other way around.

If you’ve been considering furniture from Lovesac, no matter how long, consider this your sign to take the leap! You can easily find a Sactional that literally fits your space, regardless of size, since they’re wonderfully small-space friendly and can be separated and rearranged in a snap. An added bonus is their “Designed for Life” Philosophy: Lovesac Sactionals are made to be the last sofa you’ll ever have to buy. As part of that philosophy, you can replace covers, cushions, pillows, and entire sections as needed so you don’t have to buy a whole new couch if it gets damaged or if you need to make adjustments to accommodate a new space after moving.

Right now, Lovesac is having a HUGE July 4th Sale on their versatile Sactionals, knocking 20 percent off the price. Additionally, if you go for the standard fill, you can get an extra five percent off, meaning you’ll save up to 25 percent off in total! That includes outdoor Sactionals and StealthTech if you opt for it, which is essentially sound and wireless charging embedded right into the sofa. Along with the Sactional sale, you can also get 30 percent off select Sac bundles through July 17. But wait, there’s more: Mark your calendar for July 1-4 because Lovesac is having a flash sale in which you’ll get 25 percent off Sactionals and 20 percent off everything else. Even with a big sale, furniture shopping can be stressful, and to ease that pressure, Lovesac also offers free shipping and a 60-Day Home Trial.

If you’re ready to see Lovesac for yourself, check out some of my favorite picks below and visit the website to build the Sactional of your dreams.

Get this look: Start with the 4 Seat + 4 Sides Sactional as your base. From there, add and attach two seats plus one additional side, and then rotate as needed.

Get this look: Begin with the 2 Seats + 4 Sides Sactional, and customize it to your liking. Separate from the sofa, add two seats without backs to create the ottoman. For the chairs, add two more separate seats and add a back to each.

3 Seats + 5 Sides Sactional and 2 Seats + 4 Sides Loveseat with 2 Ottomans, $7,586.25 (normally $8,925)

Get this look: The good news is you don’t have to fully assemble two Sactionals on your own. Simply choose the 2 Seats + 4 Sides Sactional and add another seat without sides, then do the same with the 3 Seats + 5 Sides Sactional. You could also add two ottomans to one Sactional and none to the other. Either way, the price will be the same, and that’s couldn’t be more convenient!

Get this look: Begin with the 3 Seats + 4 Sides Sactional as your base, pull it apart to swap out the right side arm with a Deep Side and add two more seats. Rotate the corner seat so its long side faces the left side of the Sactional, and then attach another seat with sides and a seat without sides at the end. The demo of your Sactional will look like it’s missing a pillow in the corner, but don’t worry, all Lovesac seats come with one so you can arrange them to your liking. For the ottoman, add two storage seats without sides. The MovieSac Squattoman Bundle is shown here with Dove Channeled Phur covers.

Britt Franklin

Assistant Shopping Editor

Britt is a stargazer and sunrise-chaser with a collection of magic erasers, and a fascination with the fantastic. A storyteller at heart, she finds inspiration in all the small things, and can likely be found singing show tunes, catching up on K-dramas, or going on adventures to satiate her natural-born wanderlust. (Sometimes even all at the same time.)

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A Colorful Copenhagen Apartment Has Rainbow Curtains & Papier-Mâché Fruit

A Colorful Copenhagen Apartment Has Rainbow Curtains & Papier-Mâché Fruit

by | Jul 1, 2022 | Design Inspiration, Style

We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.

Name: Lærke Victoria Plougmann
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
Size: 721 square feet
Type of Home: Apartment
Years Lived In: 2 years, owned

Lærke, who runs a popular Instagram account and is a sales advisor for Danish fashion brand By Malene Birger, loves to express herself artistically and visually. “Creativity is the focus point of my everyday life,” she writes. And the small apartment in Copenhagen she owns is an expression of her passion for creativity.

“The building is more than 80 years old, which brings out a lot of quirks and beautiful details in the architecture, like rosettes on the ceiling and French glass doors,” she writes. “Since I moved in two years ago, the space has seen its fair share of DIYs and renovation projects. I love that I’m able to mix the 1940s with the 2020s. I’m a firm believer that ‘old meets new’ creates the most integral connection.”

Apartment Therapy Survey:

My Style: My style is a mix of Danish design classics, kitsch, colors, patterns, and shapes. By now, I don’t think that anything is too crazy or “too much” for me. I love the odd and sometimes almost “ugly” pieces, which brings out personality and makes the space completely my own.

Inspiration: I find great inspiration in colors, art, patterns, and atmospheres. I cherish the feeling a certain place or situation can contribute, so it’s completely natural for me to think in these lanes when decorating. The color scheme in my bedroom, for example, is inspired by a sunrise and the curtains in my living room evoke a rainbow.

Favorite Element: My favorite element must be my living room! It’s a multifunctional space with room for coziness, clutter, and play. I love the color scheme and the joy it brings me. The living room is a collection of shapes and patterns — a color explosion, if you will, and I always find myself happy and content looking at this space. My friend once drew parallels between my living room and Pippi Longstocking’s Villa Villekulla, a place where norms exist to be broken. That’s the greatest compliment anybody could have ever given me.

Biggest Challenge: The apartment is quite spacious for it to be just me living here, but I still had a hard time figuring out how to fit in all of my ideas and purposes in each room. I tried to overcome it by making the living room a multifunctional space. It’s a television area, dining space, and workspace all in one. I can change the layout of the space regarding the purpose, which has been very helpful!

Proudest DIY: My proudest DIY is my papier-mâché fruits. I made them from scratch, and the design process and the actual execution took me hours. I love the dimensions of them and the childish almost theatrical feeling they bring to the space. So far I’ve made a strawberry, an orange, a pea pod, two cherries, and a banana. I’ve become obsessed.

Biggest Indulgence: My “Secret Garden” rug designed by Poppy Kalas for Layered is a precious possession of mine and my biggest indulgence. The rug was on the top of my wishlist and I enjoy it every single day. It’s formed the framework for the rest of my living room — worth every single penny!

Is there something unique about your home or the way you use it? My passion is to create, therefore my home is filled with furniture, decorations, and art I’ve made myself. For instance, the giant papier-mâché fruits, the tile tables I made with my father, the mirrors in the hallway, and the gold mobile I’ve made with my mother all coexist.

What are your favorite products you have bought for your home and why? I’ve chosen everything carefully and am therefore connected to it all, since everything means something special to me. If I have to highlight something, the rainbow curtains in my living room mean a lot to me. The colors stimulate me and make me feel happy and safe. For me, it’s pure color therapy. The weather in Denmark is often gray and wet, so the idea of the rainbow curtains was to make sure I would always be guaranteed great, sunny weather in here. If it’s dark and cold outside, I can draw the curtains and suddenly I’m in a bubble of warmth, color, and energy. It’s my very own rainbow hideout.

Please describe any helpful, inspiring, brilliant, or just plain useful small space maximizing and/or organizing tips you have: I’m truly an unorganized organizer. No matter how hard I try to become one of those people where everything is labeled and easy to access when needed, I have to surrender to being a mess. If you’re a bit of a collector like me, and an unorganized one as well, I have found that hidden storage space is key. Do you have high ceilings? Then build in shelves to use in that space. Do you have lots of room under your bed? Go ahead and use the storage space under there.

What most people get wrong about using color in their home: That it has to be chaotic and tiring to the eye. It doesn’t! You can achieve just as peaceful and calm a space by using colors as you would white or beige.

What are the biggest tricks/secrets to using color in decor? Stick to a common thread: a certain color scheme, or a color you like that can be the blocker or repeater in your interior. If you wish to fill your space with lots of colors, though, forget about coherence and let the colors speak for themselves. Don’t be scared, take a leap of faith! If it turns out wrong, a re-do is always a possibility.

What’s your favorite wall paint color of all time: I have a hard time choosing, hence why all rooms in my apartment have different wall colors. But, I must say, I love the peachy wall paint color in by bedroom. It’s so warm and inviting, and feels like waking up to an embrace.

Finally, what’s your absolute best home secret or decorating advice? Jump into the crazy ideas, and be completely indifferent to what people may think about you or your decorating style. A home is personal, and the most important thing is that it creates happiness and a feeling of security for you.

This submission’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.

This piece is part of Color Month, where we’re showing you the best ways to inject more color into your home and life. From paint color combos to vibrant house tours, head over here to see it all.

Adrienne Breaux

House Tour Editor

Adrienne loves architecture, design, cats, science fiction and watching Star Trek. In the past 10 years she’s called home: a van, a former downtown store in small town Texas and a studio apartment rumored to have once been owned by Willie Nelson.

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6 TV Shows with 4th of July Episodes

6 TV Shows with 4th of July Episodes

by | Jul 1, 2022 | Design Inspiration, Style

TV shows love a good Christmas episode. There’s even a bounty of Thanksgiving ones, and plenty of New Year’s Eve plotlines. But when it comes to America’s birthday, television sometimes lags behind. In honor of the Fourth of July, here are some TV shows that celebrated in style. 

[Editor’s Note: spoilers ahead]

Mad Men, “Guy Walks Into an Advertising Agency”: It’s all fun and games until someone brings out a lawn mower in the office. In one of the most notorious episodes of “Mad Men”, “Guy Walks Into an Advertising Agency,” Joan is preparing to leave her role at Sterling Cooper. Naturally, her departure is celebrated with a party in the office. Unfortunately, the tipsy staff get a little rowdy on a John Deere riding mower, and end up barreling over Guy MacKendrick’s foot. If you didn’t scream at the image of blood splattering up on the faces of Sterling Cooper employees, we’re not sure what will shock you.

Saved by the Bell “Fourth of July”: In the alternate universe that is the Malibu Sands Beach Club, life can get a little chaotic. Zack Morris, is, for some reason, chosen as a replacement judge of the beach club’s Miss Liberty pageant. As each of the Bayside gals push him to vote for them as the pageant winner, the club’s owner, Mr. Carosi tells Zack that his daughter Stacey should be picked as the winner. Kelly wins and Stacey is heartbroken, until Kelly makes it clear that Zack has the hots for her. The episode concludes with Stacey and Zack kissing as the fireworks go off behind them. 

Stranger Things, “The Bite”: What’s the 4th of July without a carnival and fireworks? In this season 3 episode, things start out peaceful enough with the squad riding the ferris wheel to catch the fireworks at the local fair. Naturally, things go a bit haywire. The episode concludes with Eleven’s mysterious leg wound pulsing and moving, as the piece of Mind Flayer is now inside of her.

Boy Meets World, “State of the Unions”: Corey and Topanga forever. When Topanga tells Corey that a wedding hall has opened up for the 4th of July, she wants him to jump at the opportunity. However, Topanga’s parents show up in town and tell her they’re getting divorced, hurting her faith in the possibility that her and Corey could be in love forever. We all know the couple triumphs, and even Mr. Feeny gets some love when he marries Dean Bolander in the Matthews family’s living room. Love conquered all!

Little House on the Prairie, “Centennial”: If you know a thing or two about reruns, you know “Little House on the Prairie” still reigns supreme. So it’s no surprise that the beloved series chronicling the early life of Laura Ingalls and her family on the frontier features a 4th of July episode. In “Centennial,” the town is pumped to celebrate America’s 100th birthday, until everyone realizes their taxes are going up. Luckily, the Walnut Grove residents get their act in gear in time to celebrate. 

The West Wing, “Jefferson Lives”: Well, not all 4th of July episodes are joyful ones. As Zoey Bartlet recovers from the kidnapping on the night of her college graduation, things are hectic at the White House as they search for a new Vice President. But there are touches of the holiday’s meaning during the episode, as President Bartlet goes to meet a group of new American citizens whose original citizenship venue was compromised by a bomb threat.

Megan Johnson

Contributor

Megan Johnson is a reporter in Boston. She got her start at the Boston Herald, where commenters would leave sweet messages like “Megan Johnson is just awful.” Now, she’s a contributor to publications like People Magazine, Trulia and Architectural Digest.

This Ingenious Organizer Instantly Doubled My Under-Counter Bathroom Space (It’s on Sale!)

This Ingenious Organizer Instantly Doubled My Under-Counter Bathroom Space (It’s on Sale!)

by | Jul 1, 2022 | Design Inspiration, Style

We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.

I’m in the middle of moving (which is one of my least favorite activities) and noticed that in my new one-bedroom apartment that I have even less bathroom storage space than I used to. As a former beauty writer, I have quite the skincare and makeup collection — eight bags worth. My new place only has a cabinet under the sink for me to use (and share with my boyfriend). If you do the math, you’ll realize that eight bags definitely can’t fit in there. I immediately took to Amazon to see what budget-friendly storage solution I could find.

Luckily, I stumbled upon this genius two-tier organizer from madesmart. I’ve come across my fair share of inside-the-cabinet organizers but this one is more innovative — and requires no tools to build. Instead of an organizer that has two tiers fused together, this organizer allows you to easily slide the tiers in and out. You can even pick up and remove both bins; they can live on their own in your home without the organizer structure if you no longer need it.

The organizer took advantage of so much previously unused vertical space. I was able to fit two bags worth of skincare into the top tier and used the bottom tier for extra toothpaste, Q-tips, contact lenses, and dental floss. The only downside is that you can really only put shorter objects in the bottom organizing bin.

Now, it’s easy to grab what I need out of these bins in the morning. I simply slide out the bottom drawer if I need to get my contact lens or restock my toothpaste.

I’ve moved apartments five times in the last seven years, so I’m used to pivoting based on how much storage space I’m going to get. Maybe I won’t have a bathroom cabinet at my next place (though I don’t even want to think about moving right now)! These bins can be repurposed in the kitchen (even in my fridge), on my desk or even on my closet shelf. I know that regardless of where I live that these bins will be with me for a while.

And I’ve got some good news — even though I didn’t manage to snag these on sale (I paid the full $29 and bought two), these organizers are only $20 right now. I opted for the clear version, but there’s also a frost one available.

Alicia Kort

Senior Commerce Editor

Alicia Kort is the Senior Commerce Editor at Apartment Therapy. She enjoys writing about cool finds and all things organizational. She’s based in Brooklyn and is from the suburbs of Chicago.

Before & After: A Ho-Hum Brick Fireplace Gets an English Cottage Makeover

Before & After: A Ho-Hum Brick Fireplace Gets an English Cottage Makeover

by | Jul 1, 2022 | Design Inspiration, Style

Though she’s in the process of preparing for a major overhaul of her 1940s farmhouse, content creator and author Kennesha Poe-Buycks of Restoration House wanted to address her living room sooner rather than later. “I thought to myself, ‘What can we do that wouldn’t cost a ton but offer a big visual impact in the space?’” she says. “The fireplace, since it was such a focal point in the room, seemed the obvious choice.”

Prior to the redo, Poe-Buycks fireplace didn’t fully jibe with age of her home. Specifically, while lovely, the slate blue painted brick looked a little too modern in style and made the room appear a bit darker. Even though she had spruced up the mantel with vessels to distract from her television — and added a pretty plant to the hearth — the setup wasn’t doing the space any favors. For that reason, Poe-Buycks decided to focus on upgrading the fireplace but with period charm at the core of the project. She knew she was going to update the firebox with a gas insert and worked with a contractor to source and install that component of the redo after demo. With that in place, Poe-Buycks then turned her attention to the fireplace hearth and surround, and her home’s age and history came into play for inspiration.

“In an attempt to restore [the home] to its original character and pay a nod to my affinity for English cottage style, we went with a mortared wall front for the re-facing,” Poe-Buycks says. While she didn’t want to splurge on whole stones, limestone veneer from a local stone yard offered a more affordable material that could also be installed in a quicker and easier fashion, especially since she and her husband would be doing the framing work and surface installation themselves.

To make the fireplace look more authentic though, Poe-Buycks took matters into her own hands, literally. “It was really important to me that even though we used cut veneers, they didn’t look like veneer,” she says. “We broke many of them into more organic shapes and carefully laid them out in a pattern that felt more natural.” The couple used mortar for the joinery, stacking the pieces from the hearth at the bottom of the surround to its very top.

Poe-Buycks knew she wanted a mantel to break up the surface and help situate her television and sound bar. She choose a slab-style wooden ledge in a darker finish to contrast with the lighter limestone veneer pieces and mortar. This perch is the perfect spot should she want to add smaller objects here in the future. She also placed a rattan basket on the hearth for yet another hit of texture in this spot.

The new firebox and surround set Poe-Buycks back a total of $800, which would have been way more had she and her husband not completed most of the labor themselves. The project wasn’t an overnight success though, and had some setbacks. The couple ran into a supply chain delay with their insert and the limestone veneer, and a few challenges also arose with installation. “The hardest part was learning how to place the stone — getting the mortar consistency right — and deciding on the mortar color,” she shares. “We ultimately went with white mortar, and I love that we decided not to dye it.”

From start to finish, the project took about four months due to the aforementioned product delays, but it was the perfect reno kick off for Poe-Buycks, who looks forward to completing more work in line with the history of her home. “I love English cottage style, so as we continue renovations, we’ll integrate both our personal design aesthetic with some of the original style of millwork and finishes indicative of that time period in the home,” Poe-Buycks adds.

Now that the hard work is done, Poe-Buycks feels perfectly at home in her newly styled living room. “With the addition of the stone and new insert, the space is much more inviting and cozy,” she says. “We spent a lot more time in the space this past winter, and now I can’t wait for the fall!”