Ideas & Inspiration

The holidays are just around the corner. It's time to spend quality family time, host guests, and have festive feasts. However, the food can be challenging, especially if you'll host guests with food allergies or have religious or personal preferences. As a host, enjoying a holiday meal with your guests can be hectic. So what do you do? 

If you are the host, here are some tips that you can use to make your guest with dietary restrictions not feel left out. 

The world loves L-shaped kitchens, and certainly modern homeowners do. L-shaped kitchens are a versatile and efficient approach to many different floor plans, especially the open-plan homes that are still a peak trend in 2022. Taking up two walls, or sometimes extending into kitchen peninsula, the "L" kitchen arcs around in two arms with a corner in the center on one end, and often an island to balance the space. L kitchens allow for doorways and heavy traffic, occupying the end of an open living space, and a tidy solution for smaller homes. 

Today, we're exploring the essentials of L-shaped kitchens and design tips when remodeling or building yourself a kitchen in the classic "L" form.  Whether you choose a deep farmhouse sink for your new kitchen, natural vs manufactured stone countertops, or a light vs dark color palette, these L-shaped design tips are timeless and trending.

When remodeling your kitchen, it's important to think about how each member of the house will use it. Lower storage and roll-out steps enable small children while wide walkways and practical workstation design benefits the chef. But what about your pets. Pets spend a lot of time in the kitchen keeping an eye on their people and waiting for kitchen treats, so their presence in the kitchen is something you can - and should - design for, as well.

How can you design pet-friendly features into your kitchen remodel? Here are our eight favorite pet-friendly kitchen designs. 

One of the rising trends in kitchen and bathroom design is a statement backsplash. Mirror backsplashes and eye-catching geometric tile are popular choices, but the single most elegant backsplash trend of today is the flowing marble backsplash design. We're not talking just the back edge of your countertops, but a soaring stone panel backing the entire space between the countertop and cabinets or, even more elegantly, the entire space behind your sink or stove.  

This creates a unique and luxurious appearance for the kitchen in a space that would normally be occupied by subway tile or glossy wall paint. Marble backsplashes increase the elegance of a kitchen without significantly changing the structure, and you can make them with the same slab as your new marble countertops or from beautiful remnants of a different color marble entirely.  

Reading is a delight, whether you choose physical books or voraciously read e-books like they were candy. Those who love to read cannot be stopped, and we are always seeking a favorite place to read. Some people read in bed, but this can lead to a sore neck. Some people read by their favorite window, but most would favor a designated cozy area to kick up their feet and get lost in the story.

The best way to enjoy hours of reading is to create the perfect private reading space. The right reading nook can quickly become your favorite place in the house. House guests, other family members, or -- if you are in the hospitality trade -- boarders, who are fellow book-lovers may also find delightful refuge in a well-designed reading space. Here are a few key pointers on how to design your own nook for reading the hours away.

Bathroom renovations have always been inspired by personal choice and preference. One sink or two? Pedestal or countertop? Farmhouse Sink? These are matters of not just aesthetic, but also preference.  In fact, preference-based renovations are rising in popularity as many people realize that home is their one and only oasis - and where many of us are spending a lot more time. Why shouldn't your bathroom be as luxurious and relaxing as possible?

We are seeing master suites of all shapes and sizes reimagined to provide a more spa-like experience to homeowners. It's time to imagine what the perfect bathroom spa might be for your home and embrace the at-home luxury trend.

So what, exactly, creates that spa experience in your home bathroom? Let's dive into the trends.  

When you have beautiful countertops, you want them clear and gleaming on display. But keeping countertops clear is a constant battle in any active household. People and things move through the kitchen constantly, and junk can pile up. The more cooking you do, the more likely cooking utensils, spices, or regularly used tools will be left out and small appliances will demand counter space. But all is not lost.

Anyone can have clear countertops if they first use a few design tricks to help conquer the clutter. It's true that a perfectly pristine kitchen is tough to keep clear - but only because there's nowhere to put all the little things you use each day. Today, we're here to talk about clear, beautiful countertops and how to maintain that in a busy household routine.

What makes a great home office? You need a space where you can focus, relax, and enjoy your work. Most of all, you need an area where your work stays organized so you always have mental and physical space to tackle the next task. The challenge is organizing your home office in a way that will stick. How do you fight back the piles of clutter or the disorganized shelves and surfaces? 

It turns out if you use the right techniques keeping your home office organized is easy! These simple steps can make your home office more organized, more attractive, and more enjoyably productive during your remote workdays. Give these a try.

Fall is in the air, and it's time to start swapping your brightly colored summer décor for the muted hues of fall. Your favorite summer tablecloth printed with colorful designs may have served you well for the past few months, but now is the time to choose your next seasonal centerpiece and the best items to set on top of it. 

From the first day of October until you start putting up your Christmas decorations. Filling your home with pumpkins, apples, and fall leaves sets the tone for making the most of the brisk weather, and creating a fall tablescape is an important step in making your home match the season. Here are some of our favorite ideas for creating a festive fall tablescape.