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.
Feature

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 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 view of Wright's studio complex from the sidewalk shows a sseries of low horizontal walls of brick, concrete, and wooden shingles topped by planters designed by Wright. In the center rear is a taller octagonal wooden building that contained the drafting room and the vault that held his blueprints.
Feature

Decorating Tips from Frank Lloyd Wright

by Laura Grey No Comments Share this  

Frank Lloyd Wright (1867 – 1959) is often described as the greatest American architect of the 20th century. But he was much more than an architect. He designed furniture, stained glass windows, tiles, ceramic blocks, sculptures, and decor. Wright thought of his buildings as environments in which every element should work together to create a […]

A four-poster bed hung with white fringed linens sits at left. A caned two-seat bench sits at the foot of the bed on a wide-planked floor; a white chamber pot sits on the floor at the foot of the bed. At right are walls covered in bright, cheery leaf-patterned wallpaper in greens and whites, a double-hung window with white shutters, and white wainscot. Below the window is a window seat. Caned side and arm chairs matching the bench sit along the right wall. An antique highboy chest sits in the back right corner.
Feature

The Delights of Historical House Museums

by Laura Grey No Comments Share this  

When I visit a new region, one of the first things I want to know is where to find the historical house museums. They’re full of beautiful old treasures and architectural choices I’d never find elsewhere. Houses tell us fascinating stories about their place in history. Guides or placards explain what you’re seeing and what’s […]

A view of the contents of a dishwasher as seen from above. At left is the top utensil drawer filled with an antique silver-plated serving fork, a modern Oneida Michelangelo pattern dinner fork, an a cut crystal knife rest. At right is the lower rack of the dishwasher which holds two Mikasa Chatsworth vintage cut crystal wine glasses.
Care & Cleaning Collecting Q&A

Is It Safe to Put Crystal and Silver in the Dishwasher?

by Laura Grey No Comments Share this  

Q: I’ve always heard that you should never put silver, crystal, or china in an automatic dishwasher. Now I’m reading that newer dishwashers and modern detergents are safer for sterling silver, silverplate, crystal, and delicate china. Is it really okay to wash these things in a dishwasher?  A: Modern dishwasher technologies and designs, and today’s detergent formulations, make […]

A brightly colored runner made of squares of patterned Kaffe Fassett fabric designs rests on a wooden coffee table in fa family room. A plate with a potted plant sits on the runner. Behind the table is a teal sofa with a bright patchwork pillow in similar colors (teal, orange, purple, turquoise). Another large plant sits next to the sofa in front of a window.
Feature

Shop Your Home for Fresh Decor

by Laura Grey No Comments Share this  

Looking for exciting free decorating ideas? Want accessories or furnishings that match your style and palette, but won’t cost you anything? If you need fresh ideas and want a new look instantly, just shop your home. You probably already have some great pieces sitting in a cupboard, hiding on a shelf, or shoved in a […]

A shadowy dining room with very high ceilings features dramatic dark colors and lighting. Gold caged metal light fixtures give an industrial touch as they hang from the high white ceiling over a gunmetal grey round table with a thick, ridged matching round base. Around the table are low lounge chairs in soft grey velvet on dark wood legs. At the back is a wall of tall grey flat-front kitchen cabinets against a black wall. Below those is another bank of cabinets in white. A grey island stands in front of the countertops. Flanking the tall entrance to the kitchen behind the dining area are a pair of wooden wall treatments, each featuring about a dozen very high, thin, matching vertical planks of darkly stained wood affixed to the wall, like a small area of dramatic paneling.
Q&A Style, Decor & Design

Kitchen and Dining Room Furniture

by Laura Grey No Comments Share this  

Q: I need new dining furniture, and I’m getting overwhelmed by all the seating options. I thought I knew what I wanted, but then I noticed some great benches and banquettes, and now my fiancé wants to have a concrete-topped eat-in kitchen. What should we know before we choose our kitchen and dining room furniture? […]