If you don’t have a lot of space in your home or office and struggle with finding ways to add storage to your limited space, (whether it’s carving out more room for your clothes, shoes, books, paperwork, supplies, or collectibles), there are definitely clever and smart ways to deal with the challenges of not having enough storage.  If you have the budget and time, you could build yourself or hire a carpenter to build a niche or built-ins to organize and store your items.  However, it can get costly. If you are on a budget, here are a few affordable tips and ideas to add more storage to your home or office.

Design: Nicole Benveniste |Photo: Lily Dong Photography

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Red, White, and Blue are color combinations that are commonly associated with 4th of July and Labor Day.  These colors complement each other beautifully with red and blue adding a nice contrast against white that can be used all year round and not just during holidays.  The colors represent freedom, beauty, and strength and captivates our attention. If you want to incorporate a patriotic touch to your home or office not only in celebration of Labor Day but because you love the colors and want to add it to your space but aren’t sure how, there are simple and affordable ways to do so that will blend into your home decor without having it look too much like an Americana style, unless you want it to.  Here are 5 easy ways to add red, white, and blue touches to your home or office.

Design: Brian Patrick Flynn | Photo: Sarah Dorio

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Fall is just around the corner and if you are thinking about giving your home a refresh, consider these interior design trends that will continue to be popular into the fall season. Velvet, abstract shapes, fringes, faux fur, dark colors, brass, warm neutrals, and plants to name a few are making a dramatic presence in home decor. It’s perfect for the fall season where coziness, intimacy, and warmth take center stage.  Here are 5 fall interior design trends that you can easily incorporate in your home or office.

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After working on many many design projects, I’ve realized that a lot of people want the same things for their home.  They want a cozy, warm, safe, and comfortable home where they can be themselves.  They want a space that is lived in and doesn’t look like a museum full of cold treasures. They want a clean, uncluttered, functional, and inviting home where they can relax, kick up their feet, and escape the stresses of everyday life, yet be able to entertain their family and friends. The outside world is fast paced, chaotic, frustrating, and difficult enough.  After work, people want to come back to a home where they can recharge and be themselves in a space that reflects who they are.  Here are 10 ideas on how to create a warm and cozy home sanctuary.

Westend Interiors

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Marble is a beautiful natural stone that gives an elegant, high-end and luxurious look to bathrooms.  Most architects and designers love to specify marble in their projects because it’s a classic material that will never go out of style and stands the test of time. It’s one of the rare materials that is beautiful and elegant without costing a fortune.  Since marble is a natural stone, every piece is unique and different from all the others.  Plus, it’s an expression and continuation of nature that we all want to integrate indoors.

Italian marble is considered one of the finest materials in the market today.  Two most popular types of  Italian marble are Carrara marble and Calacutta marble.  Carrara is slightly grayish in color with soft feather grains which is a typical characteristic of the marble.  The gray veins can be small and fine and tend to run linear.  Calacutta on the other hand is whiter and smoother than Carrara and has darker and more dramatic veins which are thick and generally run in a mesh on the entire surface.  A general rule of thumb to remember is that the whiter the marble, the more expensive it is. Calacatta marble is whiter compared to Carrara marble, so it will be more expensive, sometimes up to 5 times more expensive than Carrara marble.  Carrara can cost anywhere between $25 sq/ft to $100 sq/ft whereas Calacutta starts anywhere from $60/sqft  to as high as $250 sq/ft unfinished. The high cost of Calacatta marble is mostly because of its rarity and low availability, which makes it more precious and is considered a luxury stone. If you are renovating your bathroom, consider using marble to give your bathroom a high-end luxurious look and feel.  Contrary to reports of marble requiring high maintenance, it’s just a misconception so I hope that won’t deter you from considering marble for your bathroom.  Here are a few reasons to use this wonderful, versatile, and beautiful material.

Holzman Interiors

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Most people don’t think about grout color when it comes to tiling floors, walls, ceiling, or backsplashes.  It’s often an overlooked design element as homeowners are primarily concerned with selecting the right tile material, color(s) and size(s).  However, grout color is just as important as the tile you choose.  It can completely transform the look of a room.  Not only will it influence the look of the space, it makes the floor, wall, ceiling, or countertop stronger by bonding the tiles together and preventing the edges of a tile from chipping and cracking.   Grout color also affects how much cleaning you’ll have to do.  Lighter grout will need to be cleaned more often as it is more likely to show dirt while darker grout does a better job of hiding dirt and stains but are prone to fading and staining from harsh cleaners and direct sunlight.  Ask yourself if you want the tile to stand out or do you want to highlight and feature the graphic pattern? To help you choose the right grout color for your tiling project, here are three basic approaches to selecting grout color.

Design: SR Gambrel and Photo: Eric Piasecki

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