As someone who sleeps in my apartment’s “living room” and watches television in the “dining room,” I have a soft spot for people who use rooms for completely different purposes than what was originally intended. Interior designer Courtney Agosti was noticing a serious lack of bathrooms in her home, so she decided to turn a…
It’s a thrilling time of year for me, a former display artist, when I get to see emerging designers not only prepping their goods for exhibitions but also tinkering away to create unexpected, dramatic displays to showcase their designs. The booths deserve their own show for the amount of effort and creativity that go into…
It’s only May, but lately I’ve been gravitating toward oceany colors in anticipation of the warm summer months when all I want to do is dive into water: pools, lakes, oceans, showers — anything cool and refreshing. I’ve never gone so far as to bedeck a whole room in blue hues, but I’m loving this…
I have a soft spot in my heart for cinder blocks — I consider them the closest thing to Legos for adults, and I get really excited when people use them in cool ways. I’ve seen many cinder block planters, which is understandable: The combination of gray cement and green herbs and succulents is lovely….
I love patchwork wood projects like this dresser makeover from Jonnie Anderson, whom you may remember from her lovely studio renovation a couple years ago. The weathered wood and pastel tones give the piece a wonderfully beachy, summertime vibe. I’ve never been lucky enough to find salvaged wood in such beautiful colors, but if I…
Raw, open spaces like this can be exciting but also overwhelming, especially if they arrive in this kind of chaotic condition. How do you fill the space and make it welcoming but stay within a modest budget? The answer in Renee’s case was lots of fresh, white paint and cleverly repurposed materials to create storage…
We’re huge fans of Skinny La Minx — you may remember this lovely new “wildflowers” print from Grace’s post earlier this week. I love fabric, but sometimes I resist buying it because I have no idea how to use it if I’m not doing huge projects like curtains or couches. Luckily, Heather had this awesome…
If there’s one room in the house that I am dying to tear down and start over, it’s my bathroom. To have a light, airy, clean feeling bathroom? Pure bliss. As a fellow Oaklander, I was particularly excited to see how freelance designer Erin Owes chose to update the bathroom in her 1911 bungalow. Erin…
The neutral, sophisticated style of this boy’s room makeover from Kathleen Hertzler may be a change from the usual bright rainbow hues we associate with kids’ bedrooms, but I find the rustic, log cabin-y vibe so cozy and welcoming that I have a hard time imaging a kid not loving this room. The ceiling is…
It’s been so long since I’ve rearranged or repainted a room, and I must admit that seeing such a dramatic bedroom transformation is making me a bit jealous. I’m eager to shake things up a bit! I love what Tracey has done for her bedroom makeover, particularly the dip-dyed curtains and the crisply tailored look…
With all of us here at D*S going through a major copper obsession right now, it should come as no surprise that we love penny installations — walls, floors, you name it. One of the greatest assets of using pennies for decor is the inherent variation in color and pattern you get; the salvaged look…
When floors are in bad condition and refinishing or renovating seems out of the question, people often try to downplay their floors by painting them a neutral color or hiding them under various rugs. However, I’m becoming increasingly convinced that if you can find a pattern or color you really love, the best cure for…
I love my rental apartment, but if there’s a room that makes me wish for the chance to own my home, it’s the bathroom. In my mind, it’s one of the spaces that benefit most from even minor renovations. I love gathering inspiration from great submissions like this crisp, sunny makeover from Julie of Belle…
It’s been a while since I’ve lived in a space like this one, but it just takes one glimpse of this “before” image to remember all the decorating challenges that accompany a small city apartment. Niamh of Seek Design managed to inject this space with cheer and energy by adding the right colors and patterns…
It’s funny to me that “bachelor” style has such a bad rep. I equate it with leather chairs that look like massively overstuffed beasts, giant TVs, a sparsely filled modular bookshelf and not much else . . . maybe an unpacked cardboard box or two. A harsh stereotype, I admit, although in my defense, I…
I do believe that there are some irrefutable beauties in the world, and wood is one of them. The greatest part of decorating with wood is that cheap, old, tattered and even dirty wood can look amazing; it has incredible texture, character and color. How many materials can you say that about? This reclaimed-wood backsplash…
I’ve tackled a few chair renovations, but I’ll be honest: caning intimidates me. I’m eagerly awaiting the day that Amanda covers caning in Upholstery Basics, but until then, I’m steering clear. I love this chair renovation from Haley Beham; she’s found an inventive way to mimic the original caning back by weaving strips of cotton…
After seeing Dana’s 3D diamond wall pattern last week, I’ve been brainstorming all the ways to add cool sculptural elements to my walls. I love wood paneled walls, but this awesome studio renovation from Cheryl Andrey is making me seriously appreciate the look of wood alone. I can imagine this looking nice as an all-wood…
I’m not a parent yet, but I’ve spent enough time around babies to know that even at an extremely young age, they love to look at patterns — particularly high-contrast, big patterns. Honestly, with all that exciting repetition and play between positive and negative space, who can blame them? This gorgeous nursery makeover from Summer…
I’ve often dreamed of having a wall like this in my house — a big, open expanse with no molding and no windows so I could do something big with it. I’d probably hang a ridiculously sized piece of art (if I had one), but I also love the idea of creating an entire wall…
