Happy Home: Pic with a Tip

When you're entertaining at home, as so many of us are doing around this time, one of the most important aspects of a good party is a well-stocked bar. In fact, I'm a firm believer that a bar should be well-stocked year round, with your favorite wines and liquors displayed prettily and within easy reach, along with a few handy, beautiful tools. So many people keep these things hidden away in cabinets or on shelves, but if you invest in the right pieces, they can do double duty as decoration. And don't forget a good selection of nuts and chocolates! Tip: Cultivate a good bar, and put it out there for all to see (and drink!).

Happy Home: Pic with a Tip

Oftentimes, the bathroom is the most neglected room in the house, design-wise. Even though we all tend to spend a significant amount of time in our bathrooms--bathing, showering, primping, doing our make-up and hair, and generally keeping ourselves well-groomed, I find that most bathrooms remain bare bones with nary an interesting object in sight. Doesn't make much sense, does it? A room that we see so often should be as pleasant to be in as possible, and that means adding color, flowers, fun objects, and art to the space, as you see in the pic above. So Tip #1: Don't be afraid of decorating your bathroom--go for it and do it up just as you would the rest of your home. xo

Happy Home: Pic with a Tip

 

Last Sunday, I spent part of a lazy afternoon helping my boyfriend organize his new bookshelves. With no other rhyme or reason to follow, I inadvertently ended up arranging his books by color--black and white on top, followed by blues, reds, oranges, yellows, and the like. His library is a bit all over the place with a strong emphasis on finance and business, so there was no other way to really make sense of the collection. Also, because of the large number of books on staid, serious topics, the majority of the spines were dark and unadorned, so color-coding really helped make it look unified and elegant. Incidentally, Vogue.com ended up publishing a feature on color-coded bookshelves the very next day, providing me with a little extra affirmation. So here's your tip today: When in doubt with what to do with your bookshelves, arrange by color. And make sure you break things up a bit with little objet d'art, picture frames, and favorite decorative odds and ends. xo

Happy Home: Pic with a Tip

Happy Friday, everyone! I'm spending the weekend relaxing, working on a second revision of my book proposal, making a roast duck with apples and onions, and finishing up some cool holiday collaborations I'm doing with a couple of brands I love. And my boyfriend's coming home from an extended trip to South America on Sunday (yay), so I'll be cooking up a big Sunday supper (I'm thinking a classic roast chicken, sage stuffing, and haricots verts with bacon and chestnuts for an early Thanksgiving). What are you guys up to?

And back to the subject at hand, today's "Pic with a Tip" comes in the form of chic, shiny objects. According to Deborah Needleman from WSJ, "Like magpies, we are attracted to bright, shiny objects, and for good reason: our homes need them. As our eyes flit around the room, they alight on and are delighted by those bright spots. Especially if your style veers toward the earthy, a bit of sparkle brings a focused sharpness to the look of natural materials and organic shapes." And look how well it works in the pic above. I love the combination of all the little silver trinkets mirrored by the bigger silver boxes. And that chic shagreen surface is just beyond words. So Tip #1: Invest in some shiny trinkets to place strategically around your space. See y'all on Monday. xo

Happy Home: Pic with a Tip

One of the easiest and least expensive ways to make a space more visually interesting is to put some books in it. Beautiful, colorful coffee table books can be ordered on sites like Amazon and Barnes & Noble for a significantly lowered price, and once you have a little collection going, it's easy to arrange them prettily on a bookshelf or stack them on a coffee table for an instant shot of color and an easy conversation starter when you have guests over.

So Tip #1: Invest in coffee table books. Arrange at will. And Tip #2: Bright flowers can do wonders for a space and they don't have to be expensive. Grab a few bundles of daisies from your corner bodega or Whole Foods, snip off the stems so that they're all the same height, and arrange in a few short vases around the room. xo

Happy Home: Pic with a Tip

Besides fashion and food, I have a pretty strong love for good design. By no means am I even close to being a professional in this category, but I have picked up some good tips over the years from various friends in the industry. Designing a room can be daunting, and that old adage that if you just fill it with things you love, it will be beautiful....well, it's just not true. If you don't pay any attention to cohesiveness, you'll just end up with a room full of discordant stuff.

Anyway, again, I'm no professional at this, but I do have a few good tricks up my sleeve. So here we go, courtesy of the Deborah Needleman. Tip #1: Get an interesting chair, even if it's a bit strange. You've got room to get quirky and creative with a statement chair, and a cool one will add tons of personality to your space. Tip #2: Get an animal (a fake one). I don't know why this warms up a room so well, but it does. Maybe it's simply because animals are cute and proffer fuzzy feelings. Look at that big shaggy sheep in the pic! Don't you just want to pet it? I sure do. I once went to an open house for a beautiful, flawlessly decorated apartment on Park Avenue and the thing that stood out the most to me was a medium-sized bronze rabbit hanging out on the chic shagreen bar. Go figure.

Let me know in the comments below if you liked this design-focused post--I'll continue doing them if so. After all, it's all about you, my readers. xo