I think accessorizing is one of the hardest pieces of the decorating puzzle – it pulls the space together, it tells the story. Too little and the room looks like a furniture store, too much and it can slide into horderville and obscures the beautiful furniture and finishes. When it comes to how to place … Read more
This past weekend I had these beautiful blackout window treatments installed in a client’s home. I thought this was a good opportunity to share a little more about this Casual Coastal project and also some tips on using blackout window treatments in the home. This is the first floor primary bedroom a week after my … Read more
Do you love interior decorating but live in a rental apartment or home and aren’t sure how you can decorate a rental? With the price of housing skyrocketing and less mobility happening in general (per The New York Times) many people are staying put. If you’re staying put in your rental but want to make … Read more
One of the best skills a professional designer can have is the ability to see in our minds how something will look in a space – from empty room to completed project. The second best skill is the ability to communicate this vision to our clients – verbally as well as using visualizer tools such … Read more
It’s been a year hasn’t it? Shut downs, shut ins, masks, work from home. Covid brought it all. But, it has been a huge boon to the home interiors and building industries. Decorating or renovating: have patience is all I can say because everything is getting more costly and taking more time. Outdoor living has … Read more
It’s the beginning of October and it’s time to fall forward, don’t you think? Fall is my favorite season here in New England. The temps can be all over the place (yesterday started sticky and humid and then the temp dropped 20 degrees!) but the nights are chilly and the feeling of wanting to pull … Read more
Happy (almost) Christmas! Sorry to take so long getting these 2018 Newburyport Holiday House Tour 2018 tour pics up. I ended up taking so many photos it’s taken forever to edit them down into a manageable tour. As I’ve often said, Newburyport, Massachusetts is my absolute favorite city. One of the things I love about … Read more
One of the things I love so much about mirrors is that they are not only beautiful in their many forms, they are also functional. As we all know, they have been used for centuries to lighten and brighten a space by reflecting natural light, candle light or even low-level electric lights. Plus, a mirrored … Read more
I’m a big proponent of smaller homes with beautiful decor. Large homes can be beautiful of course, but they are expensive to furnish, heat/cool and maintain. I’m also a big fan and hold out for the formal dining room and I see no reason why a small dining room can’t be a spectacular space. Call … Read more
In my last post on Accessories, I came across this adorably charming English country stone cottage on Country Living’s website. To die for. It also reminded me of Kate Winslet’s country cottage in The Holiday – almost as if one were the inspiration for the other. The house is owned by interior designer Julie Oswald and … Read more
We spend a lot of time thinking about pretty colors, fabrics, floor plans and budgets and all the other fun stuff that goes into designing or redecorating our homes. But, how often do we think about our body type? Huh? No, I am not talking about which colors will make us look slimmer or taller. … Read more
If you’ve ever asked yourself “How do I know how wide my drapery panels should be?” then this post will be for you! As a decorator, I take care of this for my clients, but if you’re doing it yourself, or just want something quick in the back spare bedroom, I have all the … Read more
I’ve always loved floor cloths in historic interiors the vinyl floor cloth patterns from Spicher and Co. capture these historical patterns just so well! Floorcloths came out of England in the 18th century and was made from painted and varnished cloth. They were used to mimic expensive carpets or parquet flooring (in the trompe l’oeil … Read more
I wanted to share a set of photos I just got this week (four years later!) of the modern beach house I decorated in Truro, Massachusetts. The project was shot by Paul Blackmore for Cape Cod Magazine and even made the cover! This was a modernist beach house – basically a white box with … Read more
Can you Paint Color Palette from Eggs? Yes, yes you can! The other day, a friend posted this gorgeous shot of some eggs that her neighbor had just dropped off, courtesy of their backyard chickens. The comments that ensued including the desire to repaint entire houses based on these colors. I mean, seriously, who IS … Read more
Interior decorating is more and more becoming a technology based process. And this is all good when it comes to searching for resources (or designers!) that may not be right in our own back yards. But, there is a real problem with technology and picking paint colors. It just shouldn’t be left to computer … Read more