An enormous indoor swimming pool that reflects the millions of blue and gold mosaics on the walls and ceiling above the pool. Also reflected are tall pedestal lamps surrounding the pool, and white roman statues.
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Want to Live Like Royalty? Maybe You Already Do!

by Laura Grey No Comments Share this  

Modern technologies, techniques, and materials make homes more functional and comfier than palaces of the past. Today’s commoners live better than most royals throughout history.

A kitten plays with a feathery toy hanging from a cat tree.
Care & Cleaning Q&A Style, Decor & Design

When Pets Scratch Furniture and Floors

by Laura Grey No Comments Share this  

Q: My cat and dog are wrecking my home! My dog gets the zoomies every evening and tears across my wood floors like he’s on fire. In just three months, he’s scratched the floors up where he makes hairpin turns around the stairwell and in front of the doors. My cat is well on her […]

Four dogs sit on a living room floor in furry dog beds.
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Best Upholstery and Flooring for Homes with Pets

by Laura Grey No Comments Share this  

Here are tips on choosing upholstery, flooring, pet doors, and other furnishings for homes with dogs or cats.

A large canopy bed with a simple dark wood frame coordinates with other similarly stained wooden elements around the room: a low fluted credenza, walnut paneling above the window at back and behind the bed, and framed paintings. A large wooden bench at the foot of the bed with taupe and cream upholstery and pillows matches the bedding. A large creamy textured rug sits on a wooden floor.
Feature Style, Decor & Design

2024 Interior Design Trends

by Laura Grey No Comments Share this  

Looking to freshen up your home with something new and intriguing? Despite the recent “mob wife” design trend that features bolder, blingier attire and decor, the bigger overall trend this year is for subtler, classic, low-key luxury. Here’s a round-up of top 2024 interior design trends in furnishings, colors, materials, and decor from major designers […]

A painting from 1875 by Gustave Caillebotte shows three shirtless men working on the floor of an empty Haussmann-style Parisian apartment building. They are in the midst of planing the floor, scraping up curls of wood before refinishing the floor for a new tenant.
What's Your Style?

Parisian Interior Design

by Laura Grey No Comments Share this  

Trying to describe French interior design is daunting—it’s a bit like trying to describe French cuisine or French fashion. Its history is long and varied, its influence is far-reaching, and the variety of substyles is enormous. To get us started, here is an overview of one of the most influential and popular French styles—Parisian interior […]

A Sikh man wearing turban and a curled mustache sits on the floor in front of a chair in a living room. On the coffee table in front of him are a laptop and a calculator. He looks down at the calculator, a pen in his hand. A woman, probably his wife, leans on his shoulder and looks down with him.
Accessibility Design 101

Home Remodeling for Accessibility: Financing Your Remodel

by Laura Grey No Comments Share this  

This is the last of three articles on how to remodel your home for greater accessibility. The first article focuses on the first stage—how to plan an accessible renovation. The second article features a renovation success story about a real-life remodel undertaken by Jody and Drew Yarborough, a Californian couple who renovated their Silicon Valley […]

A living room scene with a coffee table covered in a bright patchwork runner topped with a vase filled with pink glass ornaments, a candle in a votive holder, a vase of greens, and behind that all a small Christmas tree on a table next to a sofa.
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Decorating Small Spaces for the Holidays

by Laura Grey No Comments Share this  

Small homes can be vibrant and lush at holiday time—here are tips for small-space holiday decorating.

A man and a woman wearing work clothes review something on a tablet while standing in a room undergoing renovation. A bare bulb hangs from the ceiling over their heads.
Accessibility Design 101

Home Remodeling for Accessibility: A Success Story

by Laura Grey No Comments Share this  

This is the second of three articles on how to remodel your home for greater accessibility. The first article in this series focuses on the first stage—how to plan accessible renovations. This second article features a renovation success story about a real-life remodel undertaken by Jody and Drew Yarborough, a Californian couple who renovated their […]

A woman sits in a wheelchair in front of a computer sitting on a counter. Her smiling young daughter stands next to her pointing at something on the screen. A son sits in a chair behind her facing away from her toward a window.
Accessibility Design 101

Home Remodeling for Accessibility: The Planning Stage

by Laura Grey No Comments Share this  

This is the first of three articles on how to remodel your home for greater accessibility. This one focuses on the first stage: planning an accessible renovation. Article two features a success story about a real-life renovation undertaken by Jody and Drew Yarborough, a Californian couple who renovated their Silicon Valley home to make it […]

A large loft apartment with exposed beams, ducts and brick is decorated with midcentury modern (MCM) dining furniture, a Persian carpet, and a dark leather sofa, mixing industrial and MCM styles
Design 101

Decorating with Texture

by Laura Grey No Comments Share this  

Texture is one of the elements of design that does the most to make a room feel welcoming and comfortable. We notice and remember colors and patterns, but textures really make a room feel interesting. They invite us to let our eyes and hands explore a space. Decorating with texture and three-dimensionality can bring warmth, […]