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.
After your bed, the one piece of furniture that says the most about your bedroom — like what your bedroom’s style is, what its favorite color is, and what kind of music it likes — is your dresser. This is because dressers (even compact ones) tend to occupy a good amount of space, and because they’re not covered, the color and texture of their material is always visible. Which is precisely why you want to choose your dresser carefully and find one really worth investing in.
One place you’ll always find stylish dressers is West Elm. They have a wide range of designs and do a good job of using high-quality, beautiful materials that make each of their dressers stand out as an interesting centerpiece for your entire bedroom. You know you’re getting a dresser that will last when you shop at West Elm, and right now you can get a nice discount, too. Check out the best small-space-friendly West Elm dressers that are all on sale and find the perfect one to elevate your bedroom.
At 4:30 a.m. one Martin Luther King Jr. day 29 years ago, I was thrown unceremoniously out of bed. The Northridge earthquake had struck the greater Los Angeles area. In the words of Caltech’s Southern California Earthquake Center, it “produced the strongest ground motions ever instrumentally recorded in an urban setting in North America.” No kidding! After living in California for eight years, thiswas not my first temblor. But it was definitely the strongest, closest, and scariest.
After the initial shaking stopped (both mine and the building’s), I called my parents to let them know I was OK; I knew my early-rising father would see the news reports soon and worry. I also knew the phone lines would quickly jam with similar calls across the country. Then I set out to assess the damage to my pre-war apartment in LA’s Miracle Mile neighborhood.
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Given the ferocity of the 6.7 magnitude shaker that brought down 82,000 buildings and a section of the 10 freeway that included my on-ramp, the miracle seemed to be that only one item in my place was damaged. It was a very important item, though — a stained glass lamp that my dad had made for me a few years earlier. It was the only piece of his artwork I had at that point. And it wasn’t repairable.
Today, in my three-story San Diego townhouse I affectionately call Chez J, I have two of Dad’s stained glass beauties, including his favorite “tulip lamp” that sits on my nightstand. It’s the first thing I see every morning when I reach for my alarm. Though Dad has been gone since 2018, he lives on in my cozy home. The lamps have been joined by an inherited abstract oil painting — another of his artistic hobbies — that hangs on the landing between my living room and third story bedrooms. I see it whenever I relax on my couch.
Above its velvety embrace hangs a large, heavy beveled glass mirror in a handcrafted wood frame he made for my first condo; it is secured to the studs with earthquake hardware. A smaller mirror inscribed on the back with “To Jamie, Love Dad, 1990,” hangs in my entry hall, greeting me whenever I walk in from outside or head to my first floor home office.
There are other souvenirs of my father’s love and many artistic talents — including furniture he made or restored — throughout Chez J. They bring comfort and joy when I’m feeling sad or lonely. There have been many of those days in these recent pandemic years. “Comfort and joy” aren’t just a cliché. They are an important facet of wellness design, the practice of creating spaces that enhance the well-being of their occupants.
Personalizing your living space with items that carry happy memories can turn a tract house or corporate apartment into a welcoming home. They don’t need to be valuable or handcrafted, just personally meaningful to you. They can be a framed concert program from your favorite artist, a jar of seashells from a beach vacation, or holiday ornaments from a happy childhood. Or they can be arts or crafts made by a loved one.
“Our spaces are an extension of ourselves,” observes art therapist Girija Kaimal, assistant dean at Drexel University and president of the American Art Therapy Association, adding, “Thus the things we see, touch, smell, taste and hear in our homes affect our emotional and mental health.” Kaimal notes that having family heirlooms and creative pieces crafted by family members are “reminders of our heritage: past, present, and future.” Though my dad passed away a few years ago, his love will always be a tangible — and unshakeable — touchstone in my home.
Are you looking for a stylish white accent chair with endless coordination possibilities? White chairs offer a clever blank canvas, easy to incorporate with any interior palette. Simply pair with your favorite pillows or throw blankets to make a white chair your own. In this post, we’ve collected our favorite white accent chairs for every style and every budget. Here you’ll find trendy white boucle chairs for the fashionable, soft white velvet chairs for the glamorous, classic linen selections, and traditional wooden furniture pieces with chic white finishes. The options are endless.
Sarah writes about all things shopping for Apartment Therapy, The Kitchn, and Cubby helping you find the best deals and the best products for you and your home. A Brooklyn-born Jersey Girl, she loves a good playlist, a good bagel, and her family (but not necessarily in that order).
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.
Even if you don’t want to admit it, the truth is that you’re likely loyal to a number of brands. Whether it’s the cellphone you own, the clothes you wear, or even the creamer you put in your coffee, name and street cred are major factors behind the items you reach for. In many cases, you’ll even pay a few extra dollars just to know that the product in question is high-quality and long-lasting. We know so many brands like that here at AT, and it can be hard to keep track of them. But with regards to furniture — and really housewares of all kinds — West Elm is the place to go. Over the past year, our editors have tested products from this retailer in nearly every category. You might’ve seen our Personal Shopper series, where we visited West Elm showrooms and stores in person and physically tried out all of their bestselling dining tables, sofas, and coffee tables. Here, we’ve compiled all of those picks, plus more staff-favorite finds that you’ll want to check out the next time you’re shopping at West Elm. Looking for a new floor lamp? Your next family sectional? Or perhaps a set of wine glasses? Then keep reading for the best things to buy!
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.
Since I first moved to New York City nearly a decade ago, I’ve been through a lot of couches. From questionable, cash-only Facebook Marketplace pickups to what was dubbed “the cheapest couch IKEA has ever made,” I’ve seen pretty much everything Big Sofa has to offer to a young, fresh-outta-college guy with roommates. And, for years, those janky couches and their lumps, bumps, and “stains we don’t talk about” worked for me and my two roommates who were equally apathetic about the thing we sat on while we drank beer and watched “The Departed” for the fifteenth time. However, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked I moved in with my lovely girlfriend, who (rightfully) wanted a sofa that was new, comfortable, easy to assemble, complemented our (small) space, looked modern, and wouldn’t disintegrate after one lease renewal. What she wanted was a sofa that we’d have for years — one that we loved so much, we’d actually want to establish and enforce a “no eating on the couch” rule. What she wanted was the Owen Chaise Sectional from Castlery.
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The Owen is a gorgeous, sleek sectional that’s as nice to lounge on as it is to look at. It comes in two colors, Pearl Beige and Olive Gold, and features a walnut-stained base that matches practically any aesthetic. It has a deep seat, padded armrests, and adjustable legs to make sure you never have to shove a matchbook underneath your sofa to stop it from wobbling. And, because it’s elevated, there’s some room for under-couch storage. You can also choose which side you’d like the chaise to face, which is a huge bonus if you’re working with a small space. They also throw in two pillows, which I’ve found to be dangerously comfortable when working on the couch.
The thing I love most about the Owen is that it feels big. Like, really big, especially compared to the tiny IKEA couches we’re used to. (In fact, my girlfriend and I often joke around and say, “how’s it going over there?” since we feel so far away on opposite ends of the sofa.) However, it’s actually pretty compact for a sectional, and it doesn’t take up our entire living room. And, I’m not the only one that feels this way. “My husband and I spent a lot of time looking for a sectional that’s not too large or small and this one is the perfect size for literally any home or apartment,” one reviewer writes. “It’s beautiful, the cushions velcro down to the base, and feels really durable. This sectional is incredibly comfortable and we can stretch out with no problem.”
In terms of delivery, you can either have the sofa delivered to your front door, or pay extra to have it brought into the room of your choosing, with the additional option of having the couch set up for you. I had the couch brought directly into my living room, where I put together the couch by myself. Setup was a breeze: You just take the couch out of the packaging, screw on the feet with the included Allen key, secure the chaise to the main sofa with the built-in alligator attachment, and pop on the cushions. It took my girlfriend and I about 20 minutes from start to finish, and the hardest part was lugging the cardboard down the two flights of stairs in my walk-up apartment.
I really can’t recommend this piece enough: The look, feel, and size of the sectional are a massive upgrade from my past couches. So, if you’ve been struggling to find a sectional that checks off all of your boxes, do yourself a favor and snag the Owen Chaise Sectional from Castlery while it’s on sale. Trust me — it’s a lot better than the seventh page of Wayfair search results or getting lost in an IKEA showroom (again).
