by Furnishly | Jan 4, 2023 | Design Inspiration, Style
2023 has officially kicked off, and if you have a few design-related goals in mind, now’s the time to get the ball rolling on them. Maybe you want to finally move into your own studio apartment, or you’re hoping to tackle that kitchen revamp. Perhaps you just want to be a little more intentional about your home decor purchases. No matter what, you’re not alone in wanting to achieve a home-related goal or two. Even the pros have plenty of decorating aspirations! I asked 15 of them for their design-related resolutions for 2023, and I don’t know about you, but I’m going to channel some of this inspiration into my own home plans for 2023.
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1. Design while doing good
“One of my big design resolutions for 2023 is to use my talents and gifts to serve the homeless community and encourage others in our industry to do the same. I think our love for the essence of home should drive us to help others experience it.” —Designer Marie Cloud of Indigo Pruitt Design Studio
2. Be mindful about decor
“This year my design resolution is to convince clients to slow down and be more mindful about the objects they would like us to place in their homes — having them search through family memorabilia or being open to using more vintage and antique pieces. Being surrounded by items that relate to your travels, family members who are no longer with you, or artwork created by your children can bring powerful, positive energy to your space.” —Designer Stephanie Gamble of Stephanie Gamble Interiors
3. Partner with more artists
“I’ve been fortunate with past clients because they have such vast and amazing art collections. Partnering with artists allows me to offer those clients who are just starting to build a collection a place to start. I plan on attending more art shows such as Art Basel and visiting local art galleries.” —Designer Naïka André of NJA Interiors
4. Encourage clients to invest in original art
“It’s often hard to find the energy and budget for art at the end of a good renovation or build, but it’s kind of like getting perfectly dressed and forgetting all your accessories. Art just finishes and elevates a home. Period. It’s always worth the investment!” —Designer Jenn Feldman of Jenn Feldman Designs
5. Shake things up with furniture placement
“My design resolution for 2023 is to motivate my clients to branch out of their comfort zones a bit more when it comes to furniture silhouettes and layouts. Just because it’s not an obvious furniture placement doesn’t mean it may not get you more bang for your buck! Opting for a non-traditional layout can sometimes get you the things you want the most — extra seating and storage! Additionally, fun shapes and curves tend to scare off traditional clients, but it might be just the thing the room needs! It’s 2023: time to live a little.” —Designer Charli Hantman of August Black Interior Design
6. Don’t be limited by a room’s typical purpose
“Think outside the box when it comes to space planning. Homes have traditionally had a standard layout based on human habits and needs, but the fact is: Everyone uses their home differently. You may not need or will never use a formal dining room, so maybe opt for a game room instead or turn the unused formal dining into a work study/office space or lounge. It’s extremely important that your home reflects you and your lifestyle. That said, think outside the box and make sure your home functions accordingly.” —Designer Chrissy Jones of Twenty-Eighth Design Studio
7. Install wall sculptures
“In 2023, I would love to see the continued incorporation of natural textile wall sculptures into clients’ spaces. These installations add a visual interest and sense of elevation to any room while still remaining elegant and inviting. The textiles can be as delicate or bold as you like, so they can fit with any style.” —Designer Cherline Shea of Shea and Company Design Studio
“Our biggest design resolution at Sea Green Designs for 2023 is to encourage more clients to renovate and furnish their homes with more sustainably-made products. There are so many beautiful options from flooring and wall coverings to window treatments and furnishings that are made from materials that enhance well-being and the health of the planet. We definitely intend to incorporate them into our designs and our conversations with clients.” —Designer Shannon Willey of Sea Green Designs
9. Focus on interior architecture
“I want to encourage more clients to go beyond paint/wallpaper and furniture design and to move towards enhancing the interior architecture of their spaces. I want to reinvent spaces with beautiful finishes and details that will elevate any space and make it more unique from the typical ‘box’ design.” —Designer Jade McNeil of Jade McNeil Interiors
10. Don’t forget about leisure spaces
“My resolution is to encourage clients to think about life balance and prioritize not only the home office but also leisure time — to focus on giving some love to those rooms they use every day and enjoy spending time in.” —Designer Mariella Cruzado of Splendor Styling
11. Go monochromatic with a room’s color scheme
“For 2023, I’d like to change the color narrative from neutral to pops of color (or all-over color)! Right now, there are few rooms that explore saturations of one primary color. It feels somewhat representative of how Sister Parish did the Kennedy White House: choosing one color and then exploring the range of lightness to darkness in that hue. Take green, for instance. I’d like to do a room with deep forest walls, fern drapes, and then cream sofas with the lightest of green pillows. Actually, I think, Sister Parish’s textile company creates the exact pattern and shade I’m thinking of!” —Designer Anne Mueller of Briar Design
12. Embrace bolder colors
“Do not be afraid of color! Black paint will not make a space look dark and small when used properly, and a pop of color on walls or ceilings could be the missing ingredient to creating the sophisticated and elegant space you have always desired.” —Designer Chanda Kea of Kea Interiors
13. Incorporate more custom furnishings into spaces
“I want to use at least two custom pieces per design project. Buying ready-made decor pieces and furniture is great, but the design is so much more special and signature when there are pieces that are one-of-a-kind, unreplicated, and perfectly fit the space and the design. It will, of course, require more patience, sourcing, and a great attention to detail, but I’m ready to stretch myself and my clients in that way. ” —Designer Rashida Banks
14. Make the home feel ultra-special
“My design resolution for 2023 is to commit to giving a treat to my home every month. It could be as little as repainting a window sill or as big as renovating a bedroom. Together with my online community, we are doing a “Home Happiness Audit,” where we are listing all the things that make us not so happy about our homes. Then every month throughout the year, we’re going to work on that list to bring more joy to our homes and lives.” —Designer Ju De Paula of Blueberry Living & Co
15. Take more creative risks
“For myself, my design resolution is to push myself creatively to try something that I haven’t done yet — which I’m not yet ready to share, but stay tuned. For clients, I want them to think about how they want to live and push past how they are used to living because those are two very different things. Great design is an emotional experience; it needs to be felt.” —Designer Beth Diana Smith
by Furnishly | Dec 29, 2022 | Design Inspiration, Style
We’ve published tons of style advice from designers, home stagers, TikTok, and more, but they aren’t the only ones furnishing Apartment Therapy with creative and clever tips. Sometimes great advice hides in plain sight: right in the comments section! Here’s some of the best design advice that you — our readers — have supplied in the past year.
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1. Create faux fire with fairy lights.
While candles, a light box, and plants all look great in a non-working fireplace — and AT’s article on stylish ideas for non-working fireplaces said as much — they don’t achieve the look of a lovely, crackly glow. Reader KHAT shared in the comments that balling up strings of twinkling fairy lights, placing them in the fireplace cavity, and adding a brass screen across the opening will do the trick. “When they’re on – & twinkling – you’d swear at first [glance] there’s an actual fire burning,” they wrote.
2. Fashion a headboard out of plywood and fabric.
Instead of buying a headboard slipcover, commenter SARAH recommended covering a piece of plywood with fabric to achieve a similar effect — and using safety pins to secure it so you can easily swap out the color and style as you please.
3. Use uplighting to open up a room.
Earlier this year, home Instagrammer and TikToker Tiffany Encarnacion cited lots of lighting — such as table lamps, floor lamps, and chandeliers — as something every first apartment needs. Reader MIKE IN HAWAII added one more in the article’s comments: uplighting can lights. “If you have a good sized plant, an uplight casts complex shadows on the wall and ceiling and make the plant’s underside the highlight,” they write. “Any corner you want to have some pop, an uplight can gives it.”
4. Invest in the items you interact with every day.
When we compiled tips for decorating your first apartment, commenter ZEPHY chimed in with their own: “Spend more on stuff you handle every day, like doorknobs/cabinet handles, drinking glasses, plates and forks (if you actually use them every day), your mattress and bedding, your desk lamp (if you use it every day). These things become your life, so it’s worth it to choose quality and stuff you love,” they wrote. “Don’t splurge on temporary things like throw pillows that will be replaced fairly soon.”
5. Convert a TV cabinet into clothing storage.
Want the armoire look for less? “I’m constantly seeing *free* tv cabinets!” SARAH commented on our March 2022 article. They recommended covering any holes in the back with luan wood, and replacing the hardware and track of sliding doors with hinges if needed. “Put in shelves or a rod. How hard is that?” they continued. “Voila! For the price of hinges and luan you have a great storage piece.”
6. To make your kitchen appear larger, paint the ceiling and upper cabinets the same color.
Working with dark finishes on kitchen cabinets and want to prevent the space from looking smaller? In an October AT article, interior designer Stephanie Brown advised making the upper cabinets or shelves a lighter color. Reader MARYBARR50 took that a step further in the story’s comments section, suggesting a same-hued ceiling, as well.
7. Breathe new life into children’s furniture.
“30 years ago, I thrifted a child’s bedroom desk set, which consisted of a pair of 3-drawer dressers and a separate desk-drawer unit,” user DRAGNSPARK shared on AT’s piece about using three-dresser drawers as nightstands. “The desk drawer is gone, but I stripped the solid wood 3-dresser drawers, stained them, and swapped the legs for casters.” They wrote that they’ve since gone on to use the dressers as entryway consoles, kitchen storage, nightstands, and sofa end tables: “I’m never giving them up. They do everything!”
8. Decorate your garden with plates.
When we wrote about the trend of using plates as wall decor indoors, commenter SARAH jumped in, explaining that cast-off plates from neighbors and relatives can also introduce “a bit of color and surprise among the kale or beans, even flowers” of a garden.
9. Make a gallery wall extra personal with family photos.
Piggybacking off of AT contributor Sarah Lyon’s recommendation to create a gallery wall with varying frame materials, shapes, and sizes, commenter LOU91940 says they created a similar effect by using only family photos, “from about a 1906 grandparents wedding pic to current children and grand children.”
10. Usher in a new season with subtle decor swaps.
While this March 2022 article focused on bringing nature into your home for spring, reader JAZZGIRL205 remembered how their mother would welcome spring by replacing heavy bedspreads with lighter, paler sets and taking down the curtains, leaving just the sheers. They add, “I like to change out my china from the Fall and Winter cranberry transferware to a white pattern with azaleas on it.”
by Furnishly | Dec 9, 2022 | Design Inspiration, Style
Apartment Therapy has published a lot of gorgeous homes in 2022 that feature many smart decorating ideas. Looking back on some favorites, I’ve been especially inspired by all the beautiful living rooms from the past year.
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As arguably the most used space in the home (especially with the number of people who now work remotely in some capacity), keeping the living room stylish and functional can be a challenge. Luckily, these seven living rooms aren’t lacking in the style department and have some excellent decorating takeaways that you can bring into the new year if you’re ready for a little refresh.
This UK living room is brimming with personality and pops of bold hues, and thanks to a few key color choices, everything works together. For example, the bright pink velvet pillows coordinate with the painted door frame in the room (which isn’t visible in this shot), and the gray sheepskin on the bench relates texturally to the sofa. The acrylic coffee table keeps the space visually light, and that airiness is emphasized by the lofty ceilings. If you have a high roof line like this, don’t be afraid of color. This kind of architecture is ideal for letting different shades “breathe,” but repetition can be used in any space to create cohesiveness.
Who says a successfully decorated living room has to be fully indoors? The screened-in porch meets living room in this Philadelphia home cleverly uses both indoor and outdoor furniture and accessories to make it feel as inviting as a traditional, fully-inside living area. Even though the space doesn’t feature a sofa, all of the seating options are roomy for when guests come over and feel carefully considered. It’s the textiles, from the blankets and rugs to the throw pillows, that give the space that extra layer of comfort and coziness. The glowing string lights don’t hurt, either!
Double down on natural, neutral materials.
Talk about swoon-worthy! This Barcelona cottage’s living room is exactly what you’d imagine if you heard the term “breezy Mediterranean,” right? This space is all about a very tight, restrained palette. Everything in the room feels very intentional, and you can tell that all the furniture and accessories were very carefully chosen. All-white walls and floors make the living room bright and airy, and the neutral colors and natural materials — from the terracotta pots and woven grass rugs and rattan shelving — feel like they’ve always lived in this space. Thanks to a light touch and some decisive curating, this room hangs together visually in the most beautiful way.
This living room in this U.K. abode serves bold colors in such an artful way. Vibrant yellow, coral, minty blue, and a mauve-like rose all work together, thanks to commitment to color-blocking. Clean lined furniture, negative space on the walls, and the lack of patterned accents keep the focus on the bands of color, which create a big visual impact. The main colors used in the space echo in the pillows, blankets, and planters found in the space, which adds to the unity created in the room. Even the decorative accessories on the shelving feature the space’s key hues!
When you have an apartment with such good bones like this Harlem space (hello, pre-war details!), you’re gifted one of the best starting canvases you could ask for. This NYC renter purposefully incorporated the box molding to showcase their art collection, and I’ve always love leaning art on the floor; it projects an air of effortlessness. The color palette is a calming mix of blues, grays, white, and creams that makes the light-filled space inviting and relaxing. Plenty of plants and stacks of books round out the coziness of the room.
This one goes out to all the lovers of minimalism. A super-restrained palette, natural materials, clean lines, and an absolute lack of tchotchkes or anything “extra” combined with soft filtered light equals heart eye emoji. The trick in this Kyiv apartment is, as it often goes in decorating, to really commit to a specific aesthetic if you love it. For example, there’s not a single piece of artwork on the walls (that can be seen here), which would draw attention away from the overall effect of stylish sparseness. That’s a bold choice in many ways, but it pays off big time in the tranquility and serenity of this space.
The magic is in the mix — of decorating styles.
A sculptural, modern sofa sits underneath a gallery wall of vintage-inspired paintings in ornate frames in this Chicago apartment. The juxtaposition of these disparate design styles is refreshing, and since the sofa is so simple and clean (without being boring), it allows the art to take the stage in this living room. On the other side of the living room, mismatched chairs, layered rugs, and an oversized painting add lots of personality and charm. This space stands as proof that you can mix and match aesthetics and still create a beautiful scheme.
by Furnishly | May 18, 2022 | Design Inspiration, Style
Alison Goldman
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Alison Goldman is an editor, writer, and TV binge-watcher based in Chicago. She’s held editorial positions at Boston.com, WomensHealthMag.com, and Glamour magazine. She’s also worked as a full-time freelance journalist, crafting lifestyle and culture content with an emphasis on women’s issues for publications including Cosmopolitan, The Lily from The Washington Post, The Boston Globe Magazine, and Chicago Magazine. She is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.
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by Furnishly | Feb 3, 2022 | Design Inspiration, Style
As the new year unfolds, it’s normal to look around your home and feel the need to start over there, too. Living rooms, in particular, typically get the most foot traffic and thus usually attract the most design attention, especially around the holiday season when you may be entertaining more. Now that the holidays are over, and the festive seasonal decor is packed away, you’re probably ready to refresh you space. Whether it’s just one corner that feels a little off or your entire living room needs a new vibe, you don’t have to spend a ton of money to make it happen. That’s where insight from someone like Atlanta, Georgia-based Giana Shorthouse comes in.
After a decade of designing and styling beautiful spaces for a living, Shorthouse (pictured above), the principal designer and lead stylist behind Studio Giana, knows a thing or two about making rooms look picture-perfect. I caught up with her for a few evergreen tips on what to do to make a big impact in your living room on even the smallest of budgets.
Whether real or faux, plants always bring warmth to a room. Shorthouse’s go-to item for making a living room feel fresh is actually loose greenery styled in a large vase. “Sometimes potted plants can feel too restrictive,” she says. “So adding that loose — almost hand-picked — element makes my clients’ spaces feel elevated and intentional.” You can forage for leafy branches in your own backyard if you have one, but if not, grocery store eucalyptus or green filler will work well, too. Don’t be afraid to go super-dramatic and oversized if you have the ceiling height for it, as shown here.
In a perfect world, you’d have unlimited funds and be able to buy new sofas and large area rugs whenever you wanted. However, that’d be pretty wasteful — and sometimes, all you need is new pillows to make your current living room setup feel fresh. Use price filters on a site like Amazon or Etsy to find new covers that’ll come in under budget, and keep your existing pillows as inserts. That way, you can rotate covers in and out with the seasons or as your mind changes.
Rearrange (and re-pot!) your house plants
If you have some potted plant babies in your living room, consider moving them around. There’s no rule that says you have to keep them in the same exact spot, so play around with new arrangements to give the room a new look. “After the winter slump, consider giving them a new pot, too,” Shorthouse says. Just like new textiles can work wonders for your sofas and chairs, changing up the color or style of your planter offers a subtle yet effective tweak to your decor scheme.
A little paint never hurts
“Paint, paint, paint,” Shorthouse says. “Paint always makes the biggest impact in any room.” If you’re unhappy with the look of your living room, consider your walls as a large blank canvas and experiment with paint. For a professional-looking paint job, Shorthouse suggests painting the trim near your ceilings, too — not just the walls. “Touch up those walls for a crisp and freshened look,” she says. “If you’re feeling fancy, go for a brand new color.”
Invest in pretty coffee table books
A shelf full of books is a beautiful way to add both color and character to any living room. They’re also a way to add style to your coffee table. “Large coffee table books are artful and interesting,” Shorthouse says. “A beautiful stack of these books on your coffee table can instantly make your room feel more expensive and curated.” Don’t feel like you have to buy all new items here though; check out thrift and discount stores for books at a bargain.
Give everything a deep clean — sofa included
When talking about interior design and home decor, cleaning is the least glamours part of the conversation and often gets glossed over. Still, it’s probably the most important. What good is a beautiful space if it’s covered in dirt and dust? Shorthouse suggests giving your home a deep clean for that fresh new feeling you’re looking for. She says, “Even sending your drapes off to the dry cleaners will make them feel like new!”
Savannah West
Home Assistant Editor
Savannah is a master binge-watcher and home cook. When she’s not testing new recipes or re-watching Gossip Girl, you can find her on Facetime with her grandma. Savannah is a news producer turned lifestyle blogger and professional homebody. She has a bachelors in journalism from Clark Atlanta University, a certification in Digital Storytelling and is earning her Master’s degree from Harvard University. Savannah believes every day is a good day and there’s nothing good food can’t fix.
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