Spark

Dining Nook Pillows from Martha Stewart

For those who have small dining and kitchen areas, I often suggest built-in banquette seating to maximize the space. A banquette allows you to carve out little dining nooks in oddly shaped rooms or to double the width of free space in rectangular rooms. The long bench seat is perfect for piling up the kids or squeezing in an extra dinner guest.Kelmscott

There are many design options in banquettes, including whether or not to have a wood or upholstered back . . . or whether to have a back at all. For benches with either a wood seat back or just the original wall as a back, cushions come in handy. This ingenious idea (pictured above) from Martha Stewart calls for hanging pillows. They are a snap to make and the pillows stay just where you need them!

This same concept of hanging pillows could be used with a bench seat in a foyer or even in a play area for kids sitting on the floor. Find many more ideas for handmade pillows on MarthaStewart.com.

There’s a Texas Tornado’s song that goes, “A little bit is better than nada, sometimes you want the whole enchilada”. Maybe it’s my craving for TexMex or maybe I’m just consoling myself, but these lyrics keep popping up in my head. When I think of all the decorating projects I want to do, the mundane [...]

The premiere of Million Dollar Decorators would get me blogging again after my mid-May hiatus (busy month,eh?) Really, there’s so much to say but it all comes out sounding rather catty. The decorators of the rich do not live in the same world as I do. I’d be much more concerned about my client’s well [...]

  Matching is for Garanimals. When it comes to dining room tables and chairs, not matching is so much more interesting. Although it might take some thought to create just the right mix, using random chairs has its benefits. You can collect them over time and you can often find one off chairs at great prices, new [...]

There is something wonderful about wallpaper like this. It doesn’t rely on pattern or gorgeous repeat.  It tells a little story in a big way.  It makes me feel like I’ve stepped into one of the luscious images by one of my favorite illustrators.  I’m a character in my own room where a lifesize tale [...]

Now you see it, now you don’t. Artwork can hover mid-air on this clear acrylic easel from CB2. We love acrylic furniture for it’s modern, space-age look that somehow blends easily with more traditional or antique furniture. It’s visually weightless and seems to take up no space, yet it functions just like ordinary wood pieces. [...]

28 12 17.  Those are the lottery numbers I would pick today.  The numbers that would win me a giant jackpot.  A jackpot I would use to dial up  Leroy Street Studio (an architecture firm based in nyc) and say, “Get out your drafting boards kids!  Mama wants a new pad.” Enough words.  Pictures say [...]

Last week, we discussed dining tables in a modern sense. Today, it’s all about the reclaimed woods and rustic finishes. I get all melty over a time worn patina . . . maybe it’s because it seems like there are stories etched on the surface of the furniture. Or maybe the distressed finish takes away [...]