Laura Grey, Author at At Home With Style

Highlights from the IKEA Nytillverkad collection are displayed in a room-like set. The set has a back wall that looks like a white tile wall. The floor is mint green. The wall at right is pale pink and has a bold orange window frame. The baseboard on the back wall is bright red. Furnishings displayed on the floor and on a plywood platform at the center include a round royal blue rug; end tables in mint green, dark blue, orange, lavender, and black; coat racks in yellow, black, and lavender; stools with pale wood seats and lavender, mint, or tangerine legs; blue and white diagonal striped fabric and pillows, yellow and white striped pillow; and a length of fabric with swirly Matisse-like leaf patterns in various bright colors from the collection on a pale blue background. This pattern also appears in pillows and on a tray.

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IKEA’s Colorful New Nytillverkad Collection

May 31, 2023June 7, 2023 by Laura Grey No Comments

When a brand with IKEA’s enormous worldwide influence makes a big design statement, the world listens. At Milan Design Week in April, IKEA announced Nytillverkad, the company’s newest range of furnishings. With the IKEA Nytillverkad collection, the Swedish design giant celebrates its 80th anniversary by reimagining an assortment of its iconic designs. The range of […]

A monochromatic room with only beige and white elements: white walls, beige textured rug on a pale parquet wood floor, a sheepskin throw rug, a beige knitted pouf footstool with a beige boucle chair and sofa (both in MCM shapes), and woven wicker round mirrors over the sofa. A low marble-topped tripod table acts as coffee table. All furnishings are low and textured but colorless.

What's Your Style?

Midcentury Modern Interior Design

May 21, 2023June 8, 2023 by Laura Grey No Comments

Because of its versatility, simplicity, lack of pretension, and relaxed quality, midcentury modern (MCM) is one of the most popular interior design styles. MCM was popular from the late 1940s to the early 1970s. It reached the height of its popularity in the 1950s and 1960s. The serene and organic shapes and neutral colors used […]

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Off-the-Wall Wallpaper Projects

May 20, 2023May 31, 2023 by Laura Grey No Comments

Decorative wallpapers can add beauty to your home in a variety of ways. Sure, you can paper a wall with them. But have you considered the other surfaces in your home that would look marvelous covered in fun, elegant, or soothing wallpaper? Here are a few of our favorite off-the-wall wallpaper ideas. Wallpaper the Ceiling […]

An airy open-plan home with tall ceilings, white walls, pale beige stone floors with seagrass carpets, bleached wood coffee table with pale blue pots and baskets on top, beige and white striped sofa, basketry on floor, taupe kitchen cabinetry, a beaded chandelier, and in the distance, an open grand piano.

What's Your Style?

Coastal Interior Design

April 6, 2023May 9, 2023 by Laura Grey No Comments

Maybe you’ve spent a weekend in a beachside retreat and thought, “I wish I could live like this all year long.” But what is it about that coastal cottage life that most appeals to you? The great views, the sounds of the sea, the quality of the light? Perhaps you love the relaxed colors, weathered […]

A bent-wood chair sits on a hardscaped patio surrounded by planting areas, shrubs, trees, and potted plants but with no lawn.

Outdoor Living Q&A

Sustainable Landscaping and Garden Design

April 4, 2023April 22, 2023 by Laura Grey No Comments

Q: I want to live in a way that benefits my family, the animals and pollinators around us, and the planet. I’d like to know more about sustainable landscaping. What are some simple things I can do in my garden to live in harmony with my surroundings? A: You can make significant and lasting improvements […]

A boxy, white, open-plan interior space with a large opening facing the sea is dotted with only white, cream, and beige minimalist furnishings. Beige modern chairs and sofas are topped with terracotta pillows and sit on a seagrass rug with a round wicker table in foreground. In the background is a simple minimalist dining table and chairs below pendant lights that end in flat wicker shades. A few black metal frames, light fixtures, and a black and white folding chair provide the only dark elements in the room.

Q&A Style, Decor & Design

Stylish and Serene Vacation Home Decor

April 3, 2023April 25, 2023 by Laura Grey No Comments

Q: I inherited my folks’ 1970s beach house. It’s full of furniture my parents bought when I was a kid. I love the place, but Mom covered everything with ocean-related stuff. The bathroom has whale tiles and an octopus toilet seat! The curtains have an anchor pattern, the kitchen chair backs look like boat wheels, […]

A pale blue upholstered sofa with many smallish matching throw pillows. The walls are a darker shade of teal. A black metal round side table is in front. Behind are a minimalist dining table (wood on top on a black metal frame) and gold leather-upholstered dining armchairs. On the dining table is a large amber glass vase filled with long leafy branches. Over the table hangs a chandelier of golden cylinders hanging at varying heights.

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The Best Coastal Style for Your Home

April 2, 2023April 11, 2023 by Laura Grey No Comments

When you think of coastal homes, what regions and home styles come to mind? There are as many types of coastal home style as there are coastal regions. Take time to consider what seaside settings feel most beautiful and comfortable for you. For example, you might create a relaxed and elegant modern Polynesian, Caribbean, or […]

The interior of a Japanese tea house. Multiple layers of sliding wooden doors and rice paper and wood Shoji screens are open, showing a room with a low tea table through the first set of doors, and a Japanese maple in a garden through the second set. Tatami mats cover the wood floors. A large blue glazed ceramic pot in the foreground is topped by a metal tea kettle on a stand.

What's Your Style?

Japanese Interior Design

March 18, 2023April 13, 2023 by Laura Grey No Comments

Traditional Japanese interior design is widely popular and much admired. This uncluttered and minimalist style emphasizes tranquil and airy spaces filled with light. Japanese design tends to be understated and calm, which lends it a serene elegance. Rooms are simply but carefully decorated. Proportion and harmony guide the placement and number of design elements. Subtlety—a […]

Detail from a Chinese armorial screen of the Qing Dynasty, Peabody Essex Museum. Intricate black and gold scene of people and animals in a Chinese walled palace, circa 1725.

What's Your Style?

Chinese Interior Design

March 17, 2023April 13, 2023 by Laura Grey No Comments

A Long Tradition of Formal Elegance What westerners tend to think of as traditional Chinese interior design has primarily been the style of Chinese aristocrats and successful merchants. It emphasizes wealth and status, and tends toward formality. Symbolism is deeply embedded in many elements of Chinese culture, and this is true of not only the […]

A little girl with dark hair and a purple dress holds an orange bottle of bubble solution and holds a bubble blowing wand up to her face. She blows into the wand, creating a cloud of bubbles. Behind her is an out-of-focus grassy lawn.

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Is Your Home’s Air Dangerous?

March 14, 2023April 2, 2023 by Laura Grey No Comments

When we discuss indoor air quality, we usually mean annoyances like pollen, dust, and household chemicals that can irritate our throats or cause runny or stuffy noses. For millions of people with asthma or other respiratory diseases, even minor irritants can lead to significant discomfort or even distress. Pollutants can make breathing more difficult, so […]