Author: By Marni Jameson
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At Home: Seven steps to styling your bed like a pro
Some things I will never understand. One of them is minimal bedding. I see these modern and contemporary homes that parade their restraint like a badge of pride. Why, oh why would anyone want a spare, streamlined minimalist bed, with their lean lines, trim pillows and stingy covers? Whenever I see beds like these in…
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At Home: 10 spots to spiff before holiday guests come
The busiest days of the year for Ryan Knoll is the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, followed by the day before Christmas Eve. On those days, business for TidyCasa, a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based house cleaning service he started almost 10 years ago, doubles. “The pre-holiday cleaning overdrive is real,” said Knoll, whose company services about 600 homes a…
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At Home: Get richer living with less — tips to lighten up
As I was winding up a downsizing talk to a group of retirees in Baltimore last week, a woman asked a question that made me want to reach for the smelling salts. The woman, who appeared to be in her 70s, was wondering what she should do with her parents’ bedroom furniture, which she was…
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At Home: To enliven dated décor, try taking a risk
The move was risky. And I don’t regret it one bit. For all my decorating life, decades, I thought animal prints were for other people. Although I coveted the exotic look of a leopard-print throw or a tiger-striped rug, I lacked the courage to put one in my home. That was then. I now have…
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At Home: To combine colors at home with confidence, cue the color wheel
Like many do-it-yourself decorators, I’m always looking for ways to bridge the gap between my limited skill set and the world of fine design. I look for what great designers know that the rest of us don’t, like how to pull off daring pairings of color. Often DIY decorators get the furniture plan right, nail…
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At Home: In ‘Authentic Interiors,’ author features rooms that tell stories
I like interesting stories and I like interesting homes. I also like to believe I tell the former and have the latter. So, when the book “Authentic Interiors: Rooms That Tell Stories” hit my radar, I thought, “Shazam! My worlds collide!” I devoured the 224-page, picture-rich hardcover, then called the author, interior designer Philip Gorrivan,…
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At Home: Cleaning closets can aid kids in Africa, animals in shelters
On a recent bike ride with friends, the subject of what we were each going to do the rest of the day arose. One friend groaned, “I’m either cleaning my linen closet or doing my taxes.” “For sure the linen closet,” I said, offering my unsolicited opinion. “Not to guilt trip you, but children in…
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At Home: Guys, is your place date bait? Gals share biggest turnoffs
“I need your help,” my good friend Susan texted from the Denver airport. She was dashing off to visit her son in Los Angeles. He needed emergency decorating intervention. Austin, a 29-year-old data analyst, was doing well for himself financially, but his apartment was a barren den of neglect. His excuse: He’d been busy and…
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At Home: Do you need stuff to store your stuff?
In my finger-wagging moments, when I am chiding folks for buying too much stuff and not getting rid of enough, when I am preaching about purging and organizing, these words fly out of my mouth: Don’t buy stuff for your stuff! Most of us have no trouble going out and buying products we think will…
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At Home: What’s cooking in kitchens? Open floorplans and bigger islands, study finds
I know we’re not supposed to care, but don’t we kind of want to know what’s going on in other people’s houses? As least decorwise? Last week, the 2024 Houzz Kitchen Trends Study came out, and I was eager to peek. I wanted to know what was cooking in kitchens not only because I like…