From a sophisticated spin on the 70’s, to a breezy beach house, to a modern eclectic loft - here are a few of the homes we found inspirational in 2016.
Read MoreEclectic Dining: Our Favorite Ways to Mix Dining Chairs
Everywhere you look these days, it seems dining chairs are being mixed and matched to create an eclectic look in the dining room. Whether your style is traditional, modern, bohemian or rustic, this trend works across all aesthetics. Here is our favorite tip (and a few favorite articles) to help you easily achieve this curated look in your dining room.
Read MoreFriday Favs: Five Links We Loved This Week
Happy Friday!
Here's a quick round-up of a few of our favorite links this week.
1. Fab Lighting
Emily Henderson always delivers great ideas and inspiration. This week she shared her favorite lighting resources - in a wide range of budgets, so you can be sure to find something you love too: https://stylebyemilyhenderson.com/blog/favorite-37-online-lighting-resources
2. Decor Trend: Beautiful Perforated Accents
My Domaine featured this fab collection of home decor with perforated accents, packed with lots of images to get your ideas flowing: http://www.mydomaine.com/perforated-accents/
3. Cozy Up Your Kitchen
From Apartment Therapy, tips and tricks to make even the starkest kitchen feel warm + cozy: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/home-sweet-home-simple-ways-to-make-your-kitchen-cozier-232257
4. New Ways to Use Wallpaper
Modern prints + wallpaper as an unexpected accent, Architectural Digest has several fun new ways to incorporate wallpaper in your home : http://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/the-wallpaper-trends-you-need-to-try-next
5. Happy Hour!
We love that the Olympics are reminding us of so many of Brazil's best exports - particularly, the Caipirinha! One Kings Lane shared 3 variations of our favorite cocktail - Cheers! https://www.onekingslane.com/live-love-home/caipirinha-cocktail-recipe/
3 Easy Ways to Organize Your Entryway (And Life)
When dealing with clutter, your best defense is a good offense. Proactively protect yourself from mounting piles of mail, paperwork and mementos with style by following our 3 tips to organize your entryway.
Read MoreColor Inspiration: St. Patty's Day Green
Happy St. Patrick's Day! Check out our picks for fun St. Patty's Day-inspired green home decor.
Read MoreModern, Budget-Saavy Lighting
Looking to upgrade the lighting in your home? We've found luxe, modern lighting options that won't break the bank. See our favorite copper pendants, gold mid-century modern chandeliers and on-trend geometric light fixtures and start sprucing up your room.
Read MoreNYCxDesign: Our Favorite Finds from BKLYN Designs
It's NYCxDesign Week here in NYC - a city-wide celebration of all things design. There are hundreds of events that give us the opportunity to see aspirational interior designs as well as the chance to do some serious Furn(iture) Scouting for our clients. To start, we kicked things off at Brooklyn Designs, a design fair focused on spotlighting Brooklyn-made home furnishings.
Read MoreAre Pastels the New Neutral?
First it was beige, then it was gray. What’s next? Rich, chalky, pastels.
Popping up more and more in minimal Scandinavian design, pastels have long been known for their ability to create a soft, relaxing look and feel in the home. However, with so many new pastel options in the market this spring, it can be hard to decide how to incorporate this trend in your home. Here are our 5 favorite ways to decorate with pastels.
Read More3 Simple Ways To Be Earth-friendly When Re-designing Your Space
The Jax table by Jory Brigham Design. Image Source: Jory Brigham Design
As you may have heard, today is Earth Day. One of the best ways to celebrate is to look for ways that we can all be more earth conscious in our everyday lives - not just today. A great opportunity to do this is when refreshing the look of your home. Whether you’re sprucing up your space for spring or gutting your place and starting from scratch, here are 3 truly simple ways to be environmentally-friendly in your re-design.
Choose sustainable furniture brands
Finding new, sustainably-sourced, environmentally friendly furnishings is easier than ever. Many large retail brands (including Crate + Barrel) now carry FSC–certified lines in addition to their traditional furniture lines. Plus, there are a plethora of local and online retailers that offer exclusively sustainable furnishing options. Try Brooklyn-based Urban Green Furniture, CA craftsman Jory Brigham, made-in-USA Lee Industries or family-run Copeland Furniture... or visit http://www.sustainablefurnishings.org for a lengthy list of sustainable furniture brands.
The Mid Century Modern Couch via Urban Green Furniture. Image Source: Urban Green Furniture
The Catalina Dining Collection via Copeland Furniture. Image Source: Copeland Furniture
Purchase previously-loved furniture
Whether your budget calls for high-end furnishings or wallet-friendly finds, there are tons of opportunities to buy fabulous second hand furniture on-line. Not sure where to start? Try this list:
Viyet: Here you’ll find pre-owned, high-end designer furnishings for 50-80% off retail, all available for immediate delivery.
AptDeco: Based in NYC and promising a positive buying and selling experience for its users, AptDeco.com now delivers pre-owned furniture to Boston, D.C., and Philly as well.
Etsy: A solid go-to for vintage and refurbished furniture, Etsy has many shops devoted re-selling used furniture and, in many cases, it comes revamped with beautiful modern fabrics and paint treatments that bring these vintage pieces back to life.
eBay + Craigs list: These two standbys still have a wide variety of furnishings available at all price points. For example, we found this fabulous, gently used midcentury couch and chair set from Kelly Hopper by Century on Craigslist. (Hurry and get it! For Earth Day!)
HD BUTTERCUP COWHIDE CHAIRS via Viyet. Image Source: Viyet
LAZZONI L SECTIONAL SOFA BED IN GREY via AptDeco.com. Image Source: AptDeco
Refurbish what you’ve got
Sometimes a coat of paint, new feet or some decorative touches like new knobs or overlays will make a world of difference to your old pieces. Reupholstering chairs and couches or sometimes just adding new decorative pillows can really transform a piece as well.
Let us know how you choose to add some eco to your home’s update! In the meantime, we will be busy shopping….
Cheers!
E + M
Bring on the Green!
With spring's slow appearance, CJ is opting to bring on the green - inside! Despite a tendency to kill every indoor plant she's encountered in the past, CJ has decided to try again. She's researched a list of easiest to manage (read: hardest to kill) plants for herself and anyone interested in brightening their home with beautiful, air-filtering botanicals.
Read MoreSaavy Sleeper Sofas for Small Spaces
Inspired by a client, we've found 6 apartment-sized sleeper sofas that will keep your guests comfy when they visit - even if you're short on space (or budget)!
Read MoreWhen the palette is neutral, it's all about texture!
For a recent project, we were tasked with creating a sophisticated, masculine office for the busy CEO of a home textile company. Surrounded by bold patterns and rich color in his business, he wanted us to help him create a softer, more serene look and feel in his office space - without sacrificing style.
Read MoreShut the Front Door
Since moving to the suburbs, CJ has discovered the joy and suffering of decorating the outside of her house in addition to the inside. She's found some simple and stylish door decor that translates to urban apartment living - and wants to share her tips so we can all give it a try!
Read MoreIt’s Time For A Change-Up
With the blur of the holidays (and most importantly, decorations) gone, CJ's house is a clean slate. Now is the perfect time to start changing things up. Whether it's moving some furniture, painting a wall or swapping in some new textiles - CJ shares her need to give her home a fresh look each season.
Read More1 piece that completely changes a room
Want to make a big impact in your home, but not sure where to start? If you're short on time, space, or budget, one of the most dramatic changes you can make is to add a large mirror. You can make a small room look bigger, a dark room feel lighter/brighter or add serious wow-factor to an understated space - all with a statement mirror.
Read MoreWhy we love a chic, simple dining room
Pinterest is a great source of inspiration when you're looking to design your home. At Spruce + Furn, we pin a lot of aspirational rooms to help clients discover what styles they like. One pin that we've seen "re-pinned" from our board over and over again is a very simple, Scandinavian-inspired dining room featured on Apartment Therapy. At first we were surprised, but here is why we think this chic, simple dining room is inspiring the masses.
Read MoreHoliday Decorating: It’s Time!
Like it or not, it's time to start decorating for the Holidays. Our go-to etiquette guru laments about why she's stalled until now - and why she's got to get started!
Read MoreComing Soon In Your Home: Nordic Influence, Pastels + Mixed Metals
Wednesday night we attended Hot or NOT: Trends That Will Rule 2015, part of the Apartment Therapy Maker Talks . Sitting on the (pretty impressive!) panel that was forecasting next year’s home trends was Genevieve Gorder of HGTV, Andrew Corrie of Canvas Home and Christiane Lemieux of DwellStudio.
One of our key learnings (other than that Chevron is OUT!) was that the concept of “Authenticity” will grow even stronger in the coming year. (No more faux finishes people!) Also, we will continue to see more and more of the simple, Nordic-inspired silhouettes we’ve seen popping up all over the place (or as Genevieve put it, “What’s Coming? The Eff-ing Vikings!”). Plus light and creamy pastel colors will overtake neutrals and while metallics will continue to rein, we’ll start to see them "mixing”. You don’t have to feel like you’re limited to using one metal in a room, you can mix and match the warms with the cools - like using copper, silver and gold at the same time to add some interest.
You know, keep it authentic.
E + M
How to Define A Room
One of the most sought-after apartment layouts is the open loft. With no walls to block light or take up precious square inches, there is a lot to love about living in a loft. However, one of the frequent struggles with living in an open floor plan can be defining where areas begin and end. Here are easy 4 tips to help you define your space!
Read More
Happy Thanksgiving from Spruce + Furn
This year we are truly thankful for our wonderful family and friends and that we get to do what we love! As we get ready to sit down with our families for a delicious meal, we wanted to share a few images of our final Thanksgiving Easy Rustic Glam tablescape (that we hinted at yesterday).
The final set up was quick and easy, so this is a great set-up to copy next year (or for your next dinner party!) Here's what you need:
- Placements - We actually got these "placemats" from a paper supply store - they are supposed to be for scrap-booking, but they were the perfect size (and price!) for our table.
- Pumpkins (and optional metallic spray paint) - As we mentioned yesterday, the only time-consuming part of this project was spray-painting the pumpkins. But you could cut down on the time by only spray-painting a few pumpkins and placing them in the center of the table. Or, you could save yourself the trouble and keep the pumpkins au natural. (Maybe add extra metallic accents via vases or other decor).
- Small votive candle holders - We picked ones with metallic accents.
- Name tags - You can pick up pre-made name tags or make some yourself with craft paper.
- Cloth napkins - These add color to the table - and your guests will need them anyway!
- A natural garland to lay across the center of the table - We also paired the extra leaves with the name tags as an added accent at each place settings.
- A small bouquet for the center of the table - Any flowers will work for this bouquet, just choose flowers that match the color scheme for the rest of your table.
Let us know what you think! Did you like the final setting? What would you add or do differently? (We need to start collecting ideas for next year!)
Happy Thanksgiving!
E + M