September 29, 2011

Creative Ways to Stow Books

Projects & Tips

Before you part with a collection of favorite books, consider these creative ways to stow them offered by writer Megan Fulweiler. She and her husband began what she calls “a new chapter” in their life-long love affair with books: We’ve come to the conclusion our books are a lot like our relatives. There are those we love, those we like, and a good many we, well, tolerate. Still, we could no more sever relations with the last group than we can—it’s obvious—winnow down our books. Both the relatives and good-but-not-favorite reads are family. Someday we might have better communication—more time, more … Read Post

January 24, 2011

Forcing Forsythia

Projects & Tips

Mid-winter blues starting to get to you? Our friend Megan Fulweiler just sent us another post with one of her techniques for beating them—forcing flowers. Here’s what she wrote: To combat winter blues, I long ago began a tradition. As soon as the holiday decorations are safely stored away, I grab my garden clippers and head outdoors. An armful of forsythia branches snipped from our bushes and plunked in a container of tepid water takes only about two weeks to open. Kept out of direct sunlight, the cheery yellow blossoms last for days. Still to prolong the delight of having spring flowers … Read Post

September 24, 2010

Instant Inspiration

Inspiration, Products

Earlier this week, Elle Décor’s new editor, Michael Boodro, hosted an event at the Century Furniture showroom in the New York Design Center to celebrate the site’s new LookBook, which is incredibly helpful for people who are in the midst of a remodel and want instant access to inspiration. The LookBook offers hundreds of photos of beautiful rooms organized by style or room type. It also includes source information on the designer and the issue in which the room originally appeared. In addition, a shoppable feature (powered by 1st Dibs, the online market place for antiques and mid-century furniture) provides … Read Post

July 22, 2010

Using Color to Create Character in a Room

Interiors

Since I’m on the verge of repainting several rooms in my home, I’ve been thinking a lot about color lately. I’ve also been talking to a lot of color experts to get their insights on how they use it to create a mood and enhance the character of a room. When designer Nestor Santa Cruz showed me this room in a home he designed in Washington D.C., which appeared in Elle Décor last year and was just republished in a Portuguese magazine called Casa Claudia, I asked him to share his thoughts on how the color scheme evolved. Here’s a … Read Post

May 16, 2010

Warming Up Modern Rooms

Interiors

I love the work of Nestor Santa-Cruz, a Cuban designer who’s a design principal with the Washington D.C.-based firm Gensler. He has a wonderful way of bringing warmth and personality to modern spaces. I asked him recently to share his thoughts on how he generates positive feelings in a room. He told me that as a designer, he tries “to make spaces that have a soul and therefore bring an certain ‘interior’ joy to the inhabitants of the rooms.” He said he likes to find or create a personality in a room by developing a point of view that somehow … Read Post