It must have been French women, or rather, the international community's collective worshipping of French effortless style that popularized the applauding of results without effort. A whole culture now works painstakingly in order to appear as though they haven't really done so at all. Youtube makeup tutorials that approach the twenty-minute mark teach one how to apply makeup so as to appear as though one is not wearing any, likewise hair tutorials that involve numerous ...

April 4th is the best day. Wanna know why? 'Cause it's my birthday. As I've taken to doing, I'm sharing 10 birthday wishes with you, my readerest readers. Here goes.   1. That people come to understand my definition of home: a sacred space, meant to take you in its arms after a long day and nurture you in the just the way you want to be nurtured.   2. That we shift the conversation ...

Happy April, one day belatedly. It doesn't ever feel like Spring to me until April arrives, at which point I get irrationally angry when the weather decides to project anything other than springtime bliss. I digress. These spaces, designed by Maria von Hartz and Annie Fitzgerald of Von Fitz Design, with their neutral bases (white walls, sheepskin rugs, twiggy elements) punctuated with doses of strong textures and colors throughout seem to me to channel the essence of ...

Here's a newsflash to blow the popcorn right out of your hump day: surface space is surface space. It doesn't matter quite where said space exists, merely that it does. A wall is no less an opportunity for storage than is, say, a door, or a toilet tank. Following in line with the aforeblogged examples is the oft-overlooked but no less potential-ripe side-of-stuff. The sides of cabinets, kitchen islands, bathroom counters, nightstands, dressers, changing tables--they ...

Here it is: the top-secret list of the 6 organizing products I've been buying in bulk and using to transform my client's spaces this month. Drawing back the curtain just for you.   1. Cablebox This box is perfectly designed to help hide a mess of cords, as has been proven in numerous home offices this month. Feed the cords into the side slots, corral the bulk of their length inside the box, put the lid ...