May 16, 2010

Creating a Window Shade that Blocks Light

Interiors

After rough-housing the shade on our bedroom window for the past 10 years or so, my husband, Anil, told me recently that we’re ready for a new one. The existing shade is fraying at the hem and although it’s a made of a plain ivory cotton fabric, it has also faded unevenly from exposure to the sun. Furthermore, the blackout roller shade that used to be mounted behind it has fallen down, so my husband needs to wear a mask when he sleeps to keep the early-morning light from waking him before he’s gotten a full night’s sleep. I went … Read Post

May 16, 2010

Unique Centerpieces

Epicure

Last month my friend the talented designer and stylist Ingrid Leess invited me to join her and several other friends for a memorable Easter dinner at her home in New Canaan, Connecticut. She prepared a scrumptious feast with her daughter Kiira (you can get the full details on the menu—which included garlic-and-rosemary-rubbed leg of lamb, a potato-fennel gratin and grilled asparagus finished with a drizzle of black truffle oil—by visiting Kiira’s blog, eatandgreet.blogspot.com). The food was totally delicious and I’ve promised myself to ask Ingrid for the recipe for the exceptionally yummy Russian cream she served for dessert, but it … Read Post

May 16, 2010

Speed Decorating

Interiors

When it comes to decorating with individuality and imagination, it’s hard beat the incredibly gracious and wonderfully versatile New York designer Jamie Drake, who has decorated the homes of notable clients such as Madonna and New York mayor Michael Bloomberg. Jamie’s ideas on speed decorating were recently profiled in the New York Times, and riffing on this theme, I recently asked him for one of his favorite ways to quickly brighten up a room. He told me that the quality of a room’s light is one of the most important factors in creating warmth and charm. “If your lampshades are … Read Post

May 16, 2010

Easy-Care Gardening

Outdoors

A few weeks ago, the Australian horticulturalist Jamie Durie stopped by my office to talk about story ideas we might collaborate on. Jamie is the charming and good-looking Australian host of HGTV’s Outdoor Room. He’s also writing his eighth book, which will be published by Harper Collins later this year. Among the things we talked about were not only how a well-designed garden can boost the value of your home, but how plants can boost your mood. I asked him if he’d share a few money-wise ways to grow and use plants to enrich your surroundings and brighten your spirits. … Read Post

May 16, 2010

Inspiring Indoor-Outdoor Rugs and Pillows

Interiors

The inventiveness of certain product designers never ceases to amaze me. Take the Israeli-born designer Liora Manne, for example, who developed the patented Lamontage technique, which she uses to create her amazing indoor/outdoor rugs and pillows. She recently invited me to her showroom in the Chelsea district of Manhattan to show me how the process works—and how it allows her to create a wide range of subtle effects in her products, many of which look like hand-painted works of art. The technique involves overlapping swaths of polyester fibers in different colors to create a unique design and then merging them … Read Post

May 16, 2010

Decorating Ideas for Small Rooms

Interiors

Just because a room is small, doesn’t mean there’s a limit to how happy it can be. Libby Langdon, the super-bubbly designer and talented expert on HGTV’s program “Small Space, Big Style,” knows a lot about how to make a small room live large. I talked to her a few weeks ago, shortly after she’d appeared as a guest on the Rachel Ray show, and asked her for her thoughts on how to amp up the happiness factor in small spaces. While her ideas are great for compact rooms, they could work just as easily in medium and large rooms, … Read Post

May 16, 2010

Indirect Words of Wisdom from the Dalai Lama

Projects & Tips

I’ve never been to Dharamsala and I’ve never met the Dalai Lama, but my sister-in-law Asha has. While speaking to her on the phone last weekend, I asked her about her recent audience with one of the world’s most well-known spiritual leaders (who, by the way, will be speaking at Radio City Music Hall here in New York later this month). I was hoping to find out whether he had offered some words of wisdom that might pertain to the cultivation of a happy home. As it turned out, his talk that day was focused on sports. Asha had been … Read Post