From the category archives:

Trends

Much Smaller Than A Breadbox

March 4, 2010 Accessories

Whenever I walk into a client’s home and see one of those large floral boxes of tissues in the living room, I ask, “Do you really need to have those out on the coffee table/end table/media cabinet?”
I realize that I sound like a la-di-da decorator but why oh why does anyone require a big unattractive [...]

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Designs They Are A-Changin’

January 19, 2010 Interior Decorating and Redesign

Everything changes, doesn’t it? Here are 10 ways the interior design industry has shifted over the past decade:

1. There are more home design-related retail stores than ever before.
2. Many trade-only showrooms have opened their doors to the public.
3. The Internet has provided endless resources for purchasing furnishings online.
4. There are more TV programs and catalogs [...]

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Petit Est Le Chic

October 21, 2008 Trends

Last week was a blur: I spent it at the Interior Refiners Network annual conference in Cleveland, Ohio at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel with IRN members from all over North America. What a smart, dynamic group!  A full roster of nationally-recognized experts presented timely seminars and, coincidentally, reiterated the same theme: affordable one day decorating – [...]

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Bucky And Me

September 20, 2008 Trends

Last Wednesday I attended two seminars conducted in New York for members of ASID (American Society of Interior Designers). What a paradox:
At the first, the speaker, a successful marketing professional, discussed the original model of the interior design business and, although he stated that the industry has changed and designers must now adapt, he recommended [...]

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Technology Gone Wild

July 23, 2008 Trends

My friend, Brian, told me a funny story about a woman who used the bathroom at a local, upscale ice cream shoppe. The bathroom is completely visible to anyone inside the store because it has a clear glass front (don’t ask me why anyone would design a bathroom like this). The see-through glass converts to [...]

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Drawing the Line on Design

July 19, 2008 Trends

Dogs are better than people. Love them. But like so many other things that have been labeled “designer,” today, some pups that were once called crossbreeds are now dubbed Designer Dogs. Our culture has become obsessed with anything that is marketed with that word and tiny dogs are no exception.
There are Malty-poos, Yorkie-poos, Cock-a-poos, Schnoodles, [...]

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Be The Change

July 9, 2008 Trends

Last night, my husband and I watched in horror as Dan Harris, on ABC’s Nightline, reported how he could buy a young Haitian child as a slave, in only 10 hours.
He showed a slight, wide-eyed 11 year old girl who had been given up by her mother to a family who promised to feed her [...]

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To Be Or Not TV

July 3, 2008 Trends

Oh, no. Not again. My husband and I are having our twice-weekly debate about televisions. He wants another one.  What a shock. This time he “needs” one in the master bedroom. Of course I realize this is a guy thing – the more TVs the better, and the bigger the better. If it were  up [...]

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Making Room For Baby

June 20, 2008 Trends

Have you noticed that there’s a big baby boom going on? Maybe it’s just our family – 7 of our first cousins are about to have babies, and 4 of them are due the same week in mid-August! (Note to self: Start scouting for gifts.)

If you are expecting a little one, here are a [...]

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