Courtesy of Rooms GPTThe other day my son found me in a frenzy of speed-tidying. I was hastily stashing appliances in cabinets, fluffing cushions, and muttering about coats left on chairs. Then I started snapping photos on my phone and fussing some more.“Move over — you're in my picture!” I barked, swatting him out of the frame.“What are you doing?” he asked.“I’m cleaning up for the AI!” I snapped.Do you know what feels even more foolish than precleaning for the housecleaners? Cleaning up for a phone app.I was preparing to try some of the new AI interior design tools—the ones where you upload a photo of your space, input your style preferences, and get to see the magical result, much like those face-altering apps that show you what you’d look like with bangs or a facelift—and I needed a bunch of “before” photos to get started. I just couldn’t bear the thought of uploading photos that revealed a sinkful of dirty dishes or stray socks on the floor. Was I afraid of being judged by an algorithm? Yes.These tools have multiplied like boba shops in Brooklyn. There’s Home Visualizer, Reimagine Home AI, Home Designs AI, Interior AI, Collov AI, AI Room Planner, Palazzo, and countless others, many with confoundingly similar names (Room GPT versus Rooms GPT versus Room GBT—spot the difference!). All promise to revamp your space with unprecedented speed and creativity, usually charging fees not much higher than the price of a Netflix subscription. Alas, I can’t afford a human interior decorator. The kind of talent you see in Elle Decor would likely take one look at my chewed-up upholstery and quietly back away, so the idea of getting some AI help certainly had its appeal.“Was I afraid of being judged by an algorithm? Yes.”One thing I learned early on is that many apps are not so good at distinguishing between day-to-day clutter and actual decor. Playing around with Palazzo, I uploaded a photo of a room that wasn’t fully tidied: I had left a pile of winter coats on a stool. The app interpreted the outerwear as a lumpy furniture piece and continued to offer me versions of that strangely biomorphic mound.Another surprising find: These tools test your patience. Another surprising find: These tools test your patience. Whether you're using a phone app or desktop platform, you'll face a constant stream of glitches, slowdowns, and error messages. The waiting game may be the most maddening part of the experience. Each app has its own way of telling you it’s thinking. Palazzo shows a crude graphic of spinning tools: a measuring tape, a triangle, and what I eventually realized was a level. Reimagine Home tries to distract you with inspirational quotes from design legends like Dorothy Draper while it processes. (“I always put in one controversial item. It makes people talk.” Thanks, Dorothy, but I'm still waiting.)The results? Sometimes underwhelming, sometimes unhinged. Using Home Visualizer, I uploaded a shot of my dark, beaten-up little kitchen and requested a “Martha Stewart–style makeover.” Where the real Martha would surely have ripped everything to the studs, the result was pretty much my same kitchen with exactly the same cabinets and appliances, just brightened up with white paint and with a few mysterious objects added—including what appeared to be a needlepoint wall hanging where my oven mitts had lived.Maybe I’m playing it too safe, I thought. So I chose a bachelorette party palette of “Fuchsia Fun, Midnight Black Elegance, and Glittering Gold Grandeur” rendered in “glam” style for my kitchen and steeled myself for a scene from Magic Mike. After a seemingly eternal cycle of processing, it returned essentially the same kitchen, but with two hot pink fluffy rugs and a brass chandelier.“Maybe I’m playing it too safe, I thought. So I chose a bachelorette party palette of ‘Fuchsia Fun, Midnight Black Elegance, and Glittering Gold Grandeur.’”Switching to Reimagine Home, I uploaded a photo of my bathroom, a drab, gray little phone booth of an en suite, choosing “Scandinavian” style and one of the app’s preset color combinations, “Sage Green Serenity, Blonde Wood Brightness, and Pale Beige Peace.” I anxiously awaited the results, but the image it served me was nearly the same, the main discernible difference being a new green soap dispenser. Meanwhile, my electric toothbrush remained, as unsightly as ever.The results weren’t all disappointing. Some AI engines do flaunt surprising design literacy. Beyond the typical preset style menu options that most tools offer (think: “traditional,” “modern,” “contemporary,” “farmhouse,” “vintage” and the soul-sucking “transitional”), Rooms GPT offers filters that are like catnip for any design cognoscente who stumble upon its bare-bones website. Its pulldown menu lets you filter for the aesthetic of design luminaries like Bunny Williams, Jacques Garcia, and India Mahdavi—though, based on my experimentation, it’s clear that the real India Mahdavi doesn’t have to worry she’ll be out of a job. Where these tools really showed promise was in their ability to work with real design inspiration. I was most enamored of Home Visualizer's “Fusion” functionality, which asks you to upload a favorite inspiration image—a welcome request for anyone with a Pinterest board. I uploaded a photo of my gray-on-gray dining room (what can I say, it was 2013) along with an inspiration photo from Svenskt Tenn in Stockholm, that temple of Josef Frank designs where I’ve often told my children they should scatter my ashes. Fusion delivered admirably, keeping what I liked (my chairs and light fixture) while adding color and pattern in a reasonably Frankian style.Courtesy of Home VisualizerBut then I had my epiphany. While these tools could generate endless variations on a theme, what I really needed was expertise. I wanted someone to look at my space and tell me what actually needed fixing—not just make it prettier. Enter ChatGPT. When you upgrade to the pro version (GPT-4), you get both image analysis and generation capabilities—meaning it can create design concepts as well as actually assess my existing rooms.I started by telling it exactly what kind of designer I wanted it to be. “You are a famous interior designer known for your excellent taste whose work has been published in Elle Decor,” I wrote, uploading photos of my living room. “You are warm and witty and have a reputation for honesty. Please look at this space and tell me how it could be improved.”To my delight, it responded with a mix of authority and encouragement, starting—as any good designer knows to do—with a compliment. “To elevate this already charming space into something truly spectacular…” it began, before launching into thoughtful suggestions about enhancing architectural features, adding library lights to the bookshelves, and reimagining the lighting scheme.When I directed its attention to the room’s single, small window, which in my mind was the element in most obvious need of zhuzh, it perked up immediately, saying, “Ah, the window—a small but mighty design opportunity!” and proceeded to suggest a velvet or linen-blend curtain “in a soft moss green or taupe with a botanical texture” to be hung on a “clean, slightly tapered rod in antique brass with either orb-shaped or leaf-inspired finials to complement your English-country sensibilities.”I complimented it on its sound advice, while critiquing its overly florid language as “straight out of a 19th-century novel.” It shot back with some sass. “I'll rein in the 19th-century novelist vibes, though I must say, a touch of drama never hurts when discussing drapery!”Before long we were deep in collaborative conversation in a way that felt collaborative rather than condescending. “We'll hang full-length drapery panels well above the window frame,” it told me. It suggested Kravet, Schumacher, and Romo for sourcing the fabric, which met my approval. When I asked about costs, it broke down everything from fabric yardage to installation fees in my area.Surprisingly, after testing numerous specialized AI design tools, I found the best help from ChatGPT playing the role of decorator. While those other tools promised instant visual transformations but delivered mostly superficial changes, ChatGPT offered something closer to an actual design consultation. It could analyze my space, understand its challenges, and engage in the kind of strategic thinking that leads to practical design decisions—corny decorating jokes totally optional.I may have started this experiment frantically tidying up for an algorithm’s approval, but I ended it having actual conversations about design. Though I still draw the line at hanging up my coats.

Art Deco isn't suddenly back, but it does seem to be everywhere, all at once. Why? Some say it's a response to minimalism burnout (is Art Deco the anti-quiet luxury?), others see the trend as in keeping with fashion's typical cycle of rediscovering itself every few years. Whatever the reason, it’s on TikTok's For You Pages, which means if it’s not already in your living room, it might be soon. Below is a bite-sized history, a few important references, and some Art Deco elements to try working into your spaces.What makes it Art Deco?In its contemporary manifestations, Art Deco is defined by symmetrical patterns in contrasting colors, geometric shapes and sharp lines. Almost always a shiny chrome or metal works to underscore the palette, which while bold tends to be muted; black outlines give shape to browns, reds, mosses and umbers. Think intersecting chevrons, arched peacock-like fans, sunbursts and stylized figures. Gold almost always has a strong presence. When asked to describe Art Deco, many reach for words like glamorous, extravagant, and bold. Ask historians and they'll tell you there is no singular definition. When John Malkovich described the Chrysler Building, one of the world’s most famous examples of Art Deco architecture, in a 10-minute short documentary for the BBC in 1994, he used the word eccentric: “It’s so crazy and vigorous in its execution, so breathtaking in its vision, so brilliantly eccentric.” To really understand what makes Art Decor extravagant, muted and eccentric while remaining also somehow beyond definition, a brief dip into history is in order.What time period is Art Deco?While Art Deco traveled far and wide, its initial heyday was relatively short-lived. The name Art Deco came from a 1925 fair in France called the Exposition international des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes, shortened to Art Deco or just Deco. Most describe the endpoints of its spectrum as 1919 and 1939, between World Wars. Where does Art Deco come from?adoc-photos//Getty ImagesThe fountain, by Lalique, at The International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts in Paris, 1925Art Deco was rooted in art movements that emerged in turn-of-the-century Europe—Dada, futurism, cubism—and schools of design and architecture—From Art Nouveau to Bauhaus; Le Corbusier is an influence, so is Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Hilyard Robinson. As in the paintings and decorative arts that eventually helped define it, Deco architecture belays the era’s pursuit of a machine-age modernity (note this was also the Roaring '20s and the Jazz Age; Prohibition played its part). According to Britannica, "the characteristic features of the style reflected admiration for the modernity of the machine and for the inherent design qualities of machine-made objects." It was, if not an outright rejection of the fussy, baroque styles popular in the past, then pretty close to it: Deco was an aesthetic that mirrored the cars and airplanes and radios and sleek machines and factories revolutionizing peoples' lives. In effect, it could be read as an optimistic embrace of the future, and not in the abstract, as with American futurism in the 1950s and '60s, when the threat of nuclear war added a fearful edge to the art and design that helped cement a cultural obsession with flying cars and Jetsons-esque automation. Art Deco was aligned with a future that had already arrived. “No old stuff for me!” the architect and designer of the Chrysler Building William Van Alen famously said. “No bestial copyings of arches and columns and cornices! Me, I'm new! Avanti!''Bettmann//Getty ImagesThe designer of the Chrysler Building, William Van Alen, wore a Chrysler Building hat to attend a Beaux-Arts Ball at the Hotel Astor with his wife. Then came the depression, which effectively put a stop to skyscraper mania and the opulent detailing that made Art Deco what it is. The Chrysler Building opened in May 1930, roughly seven months after the crash of 1929, a famous Thursday in late October. And as we know, when a recession hits, exuberant architectural details that add flair—and cost—for the sake of it are the first to go. What Art Deco inspiration can you look to?JUSTIN TALLIS//Getty Images"Nu adosse I" by Tamara de Lempicka. And now, it's back. Art Deco today doesn't carry the same fresh excitement it once did, but it's not a nostalgia play, either. Deco creates an opulent but comfortable gestalt; it's livable, warm and undeniably bohemian. To invest, however, is a commitment, not only in materials but in learning how to make them play. So before you start experimenting, it will be useful to have some references in mind. Start by looking to the paintings of Tamara de Lempicka, whose heavily outlined figures shown in luxe, shining fabrics rendered in bright colors create a tonally moody feast. View full post on InstagramSimilarly, paintings and works by Aaron Douglass, Sonia Delaunay, and René Lalique are important references; as are the costumes in the 1929 film Ben-Hur, by Erté, and the iconic performances of Josephine Baker. Keystone-France//Getty ImagesThe performer Josephine Baker, circa 1928.Note the Deco inflection behind the works of artist, craftsman and typeface designer, Eric Gill (who is, yes, behind typefaces such as Gill Sans). Look to the lines of certain Cartier watches, the Art Deco district in Miami, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, in Paris, and dig into the history behind so many more buildings that Arricca Elin Sansone wrote about for ELLE DECOR last year. Five Art Deco tricks to try in your own homeStart with the floorsThomas LoofFor this Art Deco entryway, designer Bradley Stephens looked to the grand lobbies of New York’s great public buildings.When clients came to New York decorator Bradley Stephens with a request for Deco, he looked to the "grand public buildings of the period, like banks and libraries," to build a mood board that featured "terrazzo floors, tray ceilings, and metal inlays," wrote Charles Curkin for ELLE DECOR in 2021. With the austere but splashy—and very bank-like—floors in place, he added softer elements and curved lines to draw on two central tenets of the movement: strong geometric patterns paired with well-placed, curvilinear accents. Bring in art, and eye-catching detailsDouglas FriedmanA black-and-white kitchen features a bubble-gum-pink table designed by Sabine Marcelis, and a photograph by Gregory Crewdson in this historic Art Deco apartment. To maintain the integrity of a historic Art Deco apartment, Dorothy Berwin and her architectural designer Sandra Arndt of Studio AKTE had to be careful stewards of a space that came with original "casement windows, tongue-and-groove wood floors secured by timber dowels, an enormous marble fireplace, and two monumental round mirrors facing one another in the living room," Judi Roaman wrote for ELLE DECOR in 2021. In an apartment like this one, understated details, vintage pieces, and prominent art finished the sentence that the bones of this Deco structure began. Go for chrome, steel, and mirrorsThomas LoofDesigner Bradley Stephens amped up the Art Deco glamour in this small space through bespoke onyx-patterned wallcoverings by MJ Atelier, vintage Murano sconces, and a custom counter and sink. Often when people think of Art Deco they picture the impact of chrome, gold, and mirrored surfaces. And they're not wrong. Look to the lobby of the Chrysler Building for the drama and eccentricity so often highlighted as definitional to Art Deco—it's marble on metal plus interlocking patterns. This is one element that clearly reflects the original Deco's embrace of the machine age. The Chrysler Building is, let's not forget, an ode to the Chrysler car empire, and those nesting crowns on the facade represent hubcaps. But images set to a Deco background also often depict a different kind of drama, one produced by the chiaroscuro of details thrown in relief by stark lighting. In other words: Creating drama can be produced by light bouncing of shiny surfaces. Add texture with inlaysDouglas FriedmanFor his Art Deco apartment, New York designer Steven Gambrel created a pad that embodies true "Chicago-ness," with bold geometric patterns, textured wood patterns, and bold colors. The drama of Deco also plays out in details like molding, inlays and floor or wall patterns. And often, all of it at once. New York designer Steven Gambrel together with Chicago architect Phillip Liederbach wanted interiors in this 1929 Art Deco home in Chicago that embodied “Chicago-ness: what it really means to be in Chicago," Gambrel told ELLE DECOR in 2017. "We were trying to cull from the past while establishing a unique vocabulary.” The unique vocabulary, as seen here, draws on Deco with the use of inlays that catch and reflect a rich, two-tone red against steel grey, allowing shadows to create lines that deepen the tonal intrigue of the space. Lean into patterns Simon UptonCustom-made moldings of carved walnut, steel, and silver leaf replicate an original motif in this Art Deco apartment building in Madrid designed by ELLE DECOR A-List designer Lorenzo Castillo. The sink is custom-made, and the towel rack and shower and sink fittings are by Devon&Devon. To create this look in one of Madrid's lauded Art Deco apartment buildings, ELLE DECOR A-List designer Lorenzo Castillo leaned on patterned textiles and floors in muted colors that enhanced the pops of color brought by art and furniture. In the bathroom, boxy shapes created by frames around the mirrors—the shape of the sink and shower barrier—draw on and enhance the Deco vocabulary. Go for drama with pops of color Douglas FriedmanIn this historic Art Deco apartment, pops of color are offset by grey and chrome. Chair by Milo Baughman, cocktail table by Willy Rizzo; rug by ABC Carpet & Home; the walls and ceiling are painted in Dior Gray by Benjamin Moore. The artworks are by Sarah Lucas. Against a muted palette and sharp lines made in black, grey or brown, a spot of surprising color can invoke the voice of Deco. Try accents in bright red, Kelly green, shiny gold or a deep purple. For Berwin's historic apartment, custom banquettes and a Milo Baughman chair added just the right amount of pizzaz to the grey and chrome.

After months of dust, decisions, and construction chaos, your home renovation is finally complete. The contractors have packed up their tools, the new paint is dry, and that gorgeous lighting fixture you agonized over is perfectly installed. The physical transformation is complete, but there’s one final—and often overlooked—step to truly making your refreshed space feel like home: an energetic cleansing. Just as renovation removes outdated fixtures and repairs structural problems, an energy cleanse helps clear out any lingering staleness, construction stress, and old energy that may be hanging around your beautifully updated space. And while the idea of energy cleansing might sound esoteric, many of these practices are rooted in both ancient wisdom and modern science, and they require only simple household items you likely already have in your kitchen.You've already done the hard work of removing the old and bringing in the new. Now it's about ensuring that the transformation extends beyond the obvious changes. As a certified reiki practitioner and professional tarot reader with years of experience in folk magic traditions, I can attest that nothing beats the feeling of walking into a perfectly cleansed space, and I’m here to show you exactly how it’s done. Air Your Home OutStephen Kent JohnsonA simple, effective cleansing method? Open your doors and windows to let fresh air in and stale air out. We’re taking notes from Terrence Meck and Bret Alberti’s charming Provincetown home.Before beginning any spiritual cleansing, you’ll need to prepare your space physically. Open your windows and doors to create cross-ventilation, even if just for a few minutes if the weather is cold. This simple act literally and symbolically allows stagnant energy to flow out while inviting fresh air in. Sweep, vacuum, or mop your floors, working from the farthest corner of your home toward the front door. This traditional practice helps guide unwanted energy out of your space. Cleanse Your Entryway Your home’s entryway is crucial for filtering the energy that enters your space, making it the ideal place to begin your cleansing ritual. First, make a simple salt wash by dissolving a handful of salt in warm water—salt’s natural purifying properties help dissolve negative energy while physically cleaning the space. Then wipe down your threshold and doorframe with this solution while imagining that you’re creating an invisible barrier that welcomes positive energy and deflects negative influences. Daniel SchäferA small table or shelf next to the front door, as in Elad Yifrach’s Lisbon home, is the perfect spot to place a small bowl of lemon water for protection.For an extra layer of protection, place a small bowl of fresh lemon water near your entrance. Citrus has long been used in cleansing practices for its ability to cut through heavy energies, just as it cuts through grease in your kitchen. Leave this for 24 hours, then dispose of it outside, imagining it carrying away any lingering renovation stress or stagnant energy. If you have a welcome mat, take it outside and give it a good shake while visualizing the release of old energy and the welcoming of new beginnings. Cleanse Your Living SpacesYour living spaces, such as your living room or family room, have likely absorbed the most intense energy. Begin by creating a purifying spray that combines natural elements: in a glass spray bottle, mix water with white vinegar, fresh lemon juice, and a few sprigs of rosemary. As you mist and wipe surfaces, work in clockwise circles—this motion mirrors natural energy flows found in nature and helps activate positive movement in your space. Pay special attention to corners, where energy tends to stagnate, and any areas where walls were removed or modified. These architectural changes have created new energy pathways in your home, and they need special attention to be integrated harmoniously. In the evening place small bowls of salt in room corners, particularly in spaces that underwent major structural changes. Salt's natural absorption properties work overtime while you sleep, drawing out any residual heavy energy. Remember to dispose of this salt outside your home the next morning—never wash it down your drains, as it's now carrying the energy you're trying to remove.Cleanse Your KitchenWilliam Jess LairdNeed some motivation to cleanse your kitchen? Just look at this perfectly peaceful kitchen, designed by Silvia Furmanovich.The kitchen, traditionally the heart of the home, deserves particular attention in your cleansing ritual. This space nourishes both body and soul, and its energy directly affects the food prepared here and, by extension, your well-being. Fill your biggest pot with water and add generous slices of lemon, fresh rosemary sprigs (which have natural purifying properties), and a splash of white vinegar. Bring this to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, allowing the steam to purify the air and remove any lingering paint fumes or construction odors (the vinegar is excellent for this). As the mixture simmers, imagine the steam carrying away old energy and infusing your kitchen with fresh, nurturing energy. Keep a small bowl of fresh herbs on your windowsill or counter—basil, mint, or rosemary are excellent choices—to maintain the positive energy flow you’ve created.Cleanse the BedroomsThe bedroom may be the most important space to cleanse, since its energy directly impacts your rest and rejuvenation. This intimate space needs to be completely free of the chaotic energy that accompanies a renovation, allowing you to fully rest and recharge. Joshua McHughYour bedroom is your sanctuary. This light and airy bedroom, designed by Eve Robinson, is giving us all the calm, peaceful vibes we need.Mix equal parts salt and baking soda. While salt absorbs negative energy, baking soda helps neutralize both odors and energetic imbalances. Sprinkle this mixture lightly over soft surfaces like rugs, carpets, and even mattresses (test a small area first). As you do this, visualize your bedroom being reset to a peaceful, calm state. For a deeper energy reset, work with the cycles of the moon. During the waning phase—when the moon is decreasing in size—place a glass of water mixed with white vinegar and three pinches of salt on your nightstand. This practice, rooted in folk traditions, helps draw out heavy energy just as the moon pulls at the tides. Each morning for three days dispose of the water outside your home and refresh it at night. Under your bed—a space that can trap stagnant energy—place small sachets of dried lavender and rosemary, or even a few bay leaves, which have been used for centuries as protective herbs.Cleanse Your BathroomsBathrooms present a unique challenge in energy work—they're spaces where we quite literally wash away what we don't need, making them natural energy drains. But with the right cleansing approach, your bathroom can become a place of renewal. Theo TennantAll you really need is some white vinegar and a bathtub or shower, but so much the better if your bathroom is like this one one designed by Maria Speake and Adam Hills of Retrouvius.Begin by adding a full cup of white vinegar to a warm bath or shower. As the steam rises, it carries vinegar's purifying properties throughout the space, neutralizing both physical and energy residue. Along windowsills and doorways, create a protective boundary using a line of sea salt. This ancient practice helps prevent energy from stagnating in these naturally damp places. Leave the salt in place for a full 24 hours before sweeping it away (again, dispose of it outside). To maintain positive energy flow, introduce living elements—a small potted plant like bamboo or aloe vera can thrive in bathroom humidity while actively purifying the energy.Do a Final Overall Home CleanseAfter tending to individual spaces, the final step in harmonizing your newly renovated home involves creating and working with blessed water—a practice that dates back centuries across various traditions, from Christianity to Hinduism, each of which recognizes water’s unique ability to both purify and carry intention. In the Christian tradition, particularly Catholicism, the practice of using blessed water dates back to the early church, with documentation from the 3rd century describing the blessing of water for sacred purposes. This ritual is particularly powerful, because water, like your home, is a conductor of energy capable of holding and transmitting the intentions you set for your space.In a large glass bowl (avoid plastic, which can hold on to old energies), combine filtered water with three pinches of sea salt and either three drops of rosemary essential oil or a fresh sprig of rosemary. Hold your hands over the bowl and take a moment to center yourself, imagining pure white light flowing from your hands into the water. Set your intentions for your newly renovated home—perhaps harmony, creativity, or joy, or whatever qualities you wish to invite into your space.Starting at your home’s main entrance and moving clockwise through each room, dip your fingers into the blessed water and scatter droplets around your space. When you’ve completed your circuit of the home, return to the front door. Take the remaining water and, starting at the top of the doorframe, trace a line of droplets down each side and across the threshold, sealing your home in protective, purified energy. The remaining water should be poured at the base of a tree or plant outside your home. Your home is now ready for its next chapter—beautifully renovated, energetically cleared, and harmoniously aligned with your intentions for the future. Welcome home.Julia CancillaEngagement EditorJulia Cancilla is the engagement editor (and resident witch) at ELLE Decor, where she manages the brand's social media presence and covers trends, lifestyle, and culture in the design world. Julia built her background at Inked magazine, where she grew their social media audiences by two million, conducted interviews with A-list celebrities, and penned feature articles focusing on pop culture, art and lifestyle. Over her five years of digital media experience, Julia has written about numerous topics, from fashion to astrology.

Courtesy of Robert HartwellEvery item on this page was chosen by an ELLE Decor editor. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy.I’ve always wanted to visit Great Barrington, Massachusetts, since I first learned in college that it was the birthplace of W.E.B. Du Bois, the legendary Black activist and writer, who lived there from 1868 to 1873. “I was born by a golden river and in the shadow of two great hills,” Du Bois wrote in his autobiography. “Five years after the Emancipation Proclamation.” In many ways his childhood there was idyllic, “a boy’s paradise,” as he called it. And yet even that far north he felt the severe sting of American racism. Sensing from his daily interactions “that some folks, a few, even several, actually considered my brown skin a misfortune,” he turned inward. He soon stopped playing with white children out of fear of rejection.Recently I found myself searching for a 203-year-old house at the bottom of a sloping street near downtown Great Barrington. I was intrigued by Breaking New Ground, a six-part television series on Max that tells the story of Robert Hartwell, a Broadway performer who bought the house in the summer of 2020 as a refuge from the pandemic and in response to national outrage over George Floyd’s death. The series and a special episode last fall on the OWN network showcase Hartwell’s three-and-a-half-year, $1.5 million renovation.Scheherazade TilletHartwell named his living room “Paulette’s Parlor” after his late aunt. The walls are covered in Toussaint Toile, a Schumacher print by Victor Glemaud with scenes depicting Toussaint Louverture, a leader of the Haitian revolution.The Colonial-style house was built in 1822 by a local doctor named David Leavenworth. In the 1830s it was purchased by the Russell family, who owned the Berkshire Woolen Company. The house sat in a dilapidated state on the market for a decade before Robert found it as a path to repairing himself.During the height of the pandemic, Hartwell lived alone and became so depressed that the only way his stepmother could convince him to go outside for a walk was to coach him step-by-step on how to leave his Brooklyn apartment. He found solace on a park bench a few blocks away, where he began reading a magazine article on the design duo Cortney and Robert Novogratz. The interview focused on how the couple, who have nine children, bought and restored a home in Great Barrington during another period of cataclysmic loss and an outpouring of national grief: 9/11.“When that happened in 2001, New York City was just so dark, and the Novogratz family said they went house hunting in the Berkshires because they wanted a sanctuary,” Hartwell told me when I recently paid him a visit. “That’s when I realized that’s what I’ve always wanted, too. So, while sitting on that bench, I went onto Zillow and typed in ‘Great Barrington.’ This was the third house that I saw. That was on a Saturday. On Monday I found a realtor, came up here, found the key under the rotting column, walked in, and started crying. I felt a sense of belonging and this sacred protection I did not feel in this city. I put in an offer that Tuesday.”His naivete worked to his advantage. He made a cash offer of $379,000 and put his deposit down on Juneteenth, the holiday commemorating the end of slavery, to mark his homeownership as a moment in history and his own life. Hartwell’s house also bears the weight of that history. Du Bois’s mother Mary was a domestic worker in town, and Hartwell believes she may have worked in the house. He also says he discovered that the 1820 federal census listed “free colored persons” as part of Dr. Leavenworth's 13-person household. It was another 50 years before the names of Black people who worked and resided in the house appeared in the census.One way he has addressed this inequality was by permanently removing the symbol of it—a separate servants’ stairwell—whose entry he closed off in his kitchen during the renovation. What’s more, he pays homage to the Black people who took care of the place in the past and for posterity in another way. A document of the census with the identity of one Black servant—John Vanderpool—is enshrined in a frame hanging in the stairwell.Scheherazade TilletFamily photos and a framed census document in the stairhall.Hartwell is over six feet tall, and with his long, gorgeous braided dreadlocks and smooth, deep, rich brown skin, he stands out in this community of 7,000 residents—more than 83 percent of whom are white. His figure easily commands attention, exuding compassion and charm. All of that worked well on the stage for this former Broadway actor, whose credits include Memphis, Motown, and Hello, Dolly! and who now runs the Broadway Collective, a musical theater training company that hosts programs nationwide.Such magnetism and magnanimity shine through in his renovation. He collaborated with Courtney McLeod of Elle Decor A-List firm Right Meets Left Interior Design on the colorful interiors in this four-bedroom house. Right off the entry is “Paulette’s Parlor,” a purple sitting room Hartwell created in honor of his aunt, who died during the pandemic. A lavender and cream wallpaper called Toussaint Toile, made by Schumacher in collaboration with Haitian-American fashion designer Victor Glemaud, wraps around the space. Seen up close, the scenes of Toussaint Louverture, the leader of the Haitian Revolution, at work and play, paired with intricate images of the flowers and landscapes native to the country, are striking. But Aunt Paulette’s spirit lives on in the specifics: Robert reupholstered two chairs from her North Carolina home in purple suiting wool and installed crystal knobs from her house on the doors.Scheherazade TilletThe dance studio features Harlequin sprung floors and ballet barres.Upstairs, two exquisite spaces—a dance studio and a children’s bedroom—embody Hartwell’s ambitions for healing and creating. The all-white dance studio is dedicated to his best friend and fellow choreographer and dancer, Darius Barnes, who died in 2022. The professional grade space has Harlequin sprung floors and ballet barres. Hartwell also dreams of having children, and he created a guestroom where he imagines daughters living one day. It features a pair of custom twin beds and walls sheathed in illustrations of Black women in wide-rimmed glasses, natural hair, and petticoat dresses. Hartwell designed the wallpaper with the artist Kendra Dandy and the company Fine and Dandy (no relation).Moving through these rooms, I felt the entire emotional sweep of his house and Hartwell’s take on American history—a grieving of loss and trauma, on the one hand, and a celebration of the way forward, on the other. He is both looking back and envisioning how his surroundings can be fueled by love and filled by those to come.

Nothing strikes terror in the heart of a homeowner like a renovation. Costly change orders. Navigating mistakes made by previous owners. Keeping cool amid disruptions and making sure neighbors do too. Decisions, decisions, decisions! In order to help you prepare for a project of any size, we reached out to the experts: Elle Decor A-List designers who have learned through decades of experience what you should do—and what you certainly should not do—when it comes to renovating. Copy their moves. You’ll thank us later.DON’T: FOLLOW TRENDS“Please do not follow trends,” Young Huh says. “We’ve had enough of the modern farmhouse!” In other words, trends don’t age well. “These designs will look dated over time,” says Mark D. Sikes, “and you’ll find yourself having to renovate again.” DO: BUILD ON HISTORYInstead of following trends, Ghislaine Vinas suggests honoring the history of your home. “If your home has history or has been renovated over the years, try pulling back its original character to serve as a starting point for your renovation,” Vinas says. “Understanding the home’s history can help create a narrative for the look and feel of the home.” DON’T: BUILD ON MISTAKES There’s honoring the house’s history, and then there’s building on bad decisions. Do the former, not the latter, David Kaihoi warns. “Renovation is house healing,” he says. “If someone took a shortcut in the past and made strange soffits or bizarre lighting plans, do not continue down that road. You will always look at those decisions in the future and kick yourself.” Noe DewittThe guest bedroom in a New York home renovated by Redd Kaihoi. DO: CONSIDER YOUR TEAM“Thou shalt not go with the cheapest contractor and not expect multiple change orders,” Michelle Smith says. “Hire a good contractor,” Rayman Boozer warns. “A vision is no good without someone who shares it and can execute it.”In order to find the best team, Miles Redd says to interview as many contractors as you’re able to and always ask to see finished projects in order to understand what they’re able to do. “Trust your gut,” Redd says. “Contractor and client becomes a very intimate relationship, and it is important to have someone who is responsive and understands what you want.” Similarly, Kaihoi says that “even if you feel confident in your team, the exercise of comparing quotes will make you think about the process in a holistic way and unearth details you likely haven’t considered.”Vetting your team shouldn’t include getting design advice from your build crew, says Jessica Davis. “Enlist a designer or architect for this,” Davis says. “Contractors often lack the training on scale and proportion, mixing materials, what is trendy versus classic, and they likely are a bit behind your trusted design professional.”DON’T: MICROMANAGE Finally, once you have the design professional lined up, don’t micromanage the project. “You know the saying about too many chefs in the kitchen,” Sheila Bridges says. “The more people involved, the more communication breaks down, and the more likely mistakes will be made. This ultimately costs more money.” DO: HAVE A PLANOnce you have your team assembled, make sure to have a plan in place. “The worst thing to do,” says Martyn Lawrence Bullard, “is to enter into the work without having an exact plan. That leaves you open to delays and expensive change orders.”Instead, says Young Huh, “be sure of what you want to do: your schemes, details, and color ways, before you start. Be decisive, be bold, and always have a clear plan from the get go. Not having a plan in place is a surefire way to go way over budget.”JASON SCHMIDTThe living room of a Long Island project by Ashe Leandro with a distinct furniture layout. DON’T: CURTIAL IMAGINATION Be logical in your plan making, but, Alexa Hampton advises, be aspirational, too. “You have to study your furniture plans and sort out in advance what you need to live, and also how you’d like to live. That mindset allows functionality to mingle with the magical side of design,” Hampton says.DO: THINK BEYOND THE DECOR“Always include a water recirculating pump,” Peter Dunham says. “It means all your taps have hot water immediately and it saves a lot of water.”“My essential rule for renovations and decoration—actually, all interior design projects—is to consider what the floors look like, and especially the carpets,” Thomas Jayne says. “Floors have the least amount of variables for their design. It is challenging to find and include the perfect flooring or carpet at the end of the project after all the design choices are made. The right floors can immediately transport a room.”Put plywood behind walls that will have hooks, toilet paper holders, or curtain hardware, Michelle Smith says.DON’T: GO OVERBOARD WITH THE LIGHTING“Avoid going overboard with recessed lights,” says William Cullum. “They are a necessary evil, and you want to make sure you can light a room evenly.” Cullum adds that when selecting recessed fixtures, pay attention to the color temperature. “There is nothing more terrifying than turning on an extremely bright, cold, white overhead fixture,” he says. As for additional lighting tips, Kaihoi says that dimmer switches should be everywhere. “If there is a light fixture, let it be dimmable!”DO: KEEP THE PEACE“It always gets worse before it gets better,” Bridges says. To keep calm, Vinas suggests that her clients live somewhere else during the renovations. “The dust and disruptions can become overwhelming for the homeowners. It also allows the general contractor to work faster without people around.”DON’T: FORGET THE NEIGHBORSJean Liu emphasizes how important it is to be respectful of those living around the job site. “Consider sending a note about the anticipated length of the project, and send a token of appreciation for their patience when the job is done,” Liu says. “It will pay off in spades to be friends instead of foes.”And last: “Don’t worry,” Hampton says. “Like childbirth, the pain of renovation will soon be forgotten. Any discomfort you experience will be erased by the lovely life you’ll live once you move in.” Noe DewittThe completed renovation of designer Jean Liu’s Manhattan studio apartment.

Before you pick up that hammer or start sketching out new floor plans, take a seat and grab some popcorn. Renovating your home isn’t just about blueprints and measurements, it’s about finding inspiration, seeing possibilities, and setting the tone for your space. And what better way to ignite your creative spark than by diving into some of cinema’s most iconic interiors and renovation stories? From Tom Hanks’s hilarious take on the pains of a revamp in Money Pit to Diane Lane's heartfelt telling of an impulsive house restoration in Under the Tuscan Sun, these films offer more than just great storytelling—they can reshape how you think about your own home. Ready to binge-watch your way to a renovation masterpiece? Here are 10 movies that will get your design juices flowing.Beetlejuice (1988)© Warner Brothers /courtesy Everett CollectionDelia Deetz throws a memorable dinner party for her city friends.While the hit sequel dominated the box office last year, thanks in large part to production designer Mark Scruton’s gothic reimagining of the underworld (and Connecticut), it’s Tim Burton’s 1988 original that holds a place in my dark, twisted heart. From decorator Otho’s brutal mauve-and-viridian makeover of the normcore Maitlands’ Victorian pile to Delia Deetz’s collectible design-adjacent sculptures-come-to-life, the movie offers something about interiors that so much of our TikTok culture lacks: a real point of view. —Sean SantiagoBaby Boom (1987)Courtesy of MGM StudiosWatching any Nancy Meyers movie is a great idea before embarking on a renovation. The houses in her films are lustworthy (see Kate Winslet’s charming English cottage or Cameron Diaz’s movie star–level Los Angeles abode in The Holiday). High on the list of Meyers’s films to watch before a renovation should be Baby Boom. When J.C. Wiatt (Diane Keaton) leaves her sophisticated, decorated New York City apartment for a house in Vermont, which she bought without seeing it, there is much to learn. The takeaway: Make sure your budget is big enough for the unexpected. After a series of leaks and plumbing failures, Keaton’s character makes more than enough money to repair her house with a booming baby food business. —Bebe HoworthIn the Mood for Love (2000)©Miramax//EverettThis Wong Kar-wai masterpiece isn’t about a renovation per se, but it does start with a serendipitous moving day in Hong Kong in 1961. Chow Mo-wan (Tony Leung) and Su Li-zhen (Maggie Cheung) are next door neighbors in a bustling apartment building. When they discover their spouses are having an affair, the pair develop a relationship of their own. The forbidden romance is just one facet of this film’s aching beauty. The rooms, though not luxurious, are jewel boxes, thanks to Christopher Doyle’s seductive cinematography and interiors defined by dark red drapes, abstract wallpaper, delicate jadeite dishes, and Su’s body-hugging cheongsams. Chow and Su’s seductive pas de deux, captured in mirrors and through yellow-painted door frames, blossoms in their apartment’s cramped halls and in the dark, narrow streets of ’60s Hong Kong. It’s a movie that’s chock-full of secrets—the alluring sets are just the start. —Anna FixsenInteriors (1978) Entertainment Pictures//AlamyIn Woody Allen’s Interiors, precision and perfection are just a small step from psychosis. The film is no stranger to Allen’s infamously poor treatment of women—basically all the female characters struggle with some sort of mental or emotional infirmity—but the exquisite taste of the lead character, an interior designer named Eve, is another matter. Her home is sumptuously minimal—a lesson in sophisticated restraint and color theory. As she adjusts and readjusts her interiors, we are driven to consider the purpose of endless editing. Is Eve’s need for pleasant proportions the sign of an adept expert or is it an expression of her anxiety amid a crumbling marriage and the neglect of her family? When renovating we usually expect delayed timelines and broken vases to send us over the edge, but what if that very quest for visual perfection is the last straw? —Camille Okhio Mother! (2017)Courtesy of Paramount PicturesThink your renovation plans are stressful? Step into the twisted world of Mother!, where Jennifer Lawrence’s character discovers that renovations are the least of her problems. This psychological nightmare follows a young wife meticulously restoring her poet husband’s Victorian mansion, only to watch her domestic dreams implode as uninvited guests invade her space, and her beloved’s attention drifts. Fair warning: Darren Aronofsky’s fever dream of architectural horror may not offer practical DIY tips, but it will certainly put your own renovation woes into perspective. After all, at least your walls aren't bleeding…yet. —Julia CancillaIt’s Complicated (2009)Courtesy of Universal PicturesPour yourself a glass of wine and settle in for the ultimate pre-renovation comfort watch. It’s Complicated follows Jane (Meryl Streep), a successful bakery owner with an enviable Santa Barbara home who finds herself in a steamy affair with her ex-husband Jake (Alec Baldwin) while simultaneously falling for her charming architect, Adam (Steve Martin). Between planning her dream kitchen renovation and navigating romantic entanglements, Jane finds her perfectly ordered life descending into delicious chaos. This film serves up the perfect blend of laughs, love, and interior design porn. —Julia CancillaMr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948)Bettmann//Getty ImagesIf you’ve ever looked for real estate, built a house, dealt with contractors, or renovated a house, every joke in this classic comedy will hit home. Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House tells the story of ad executive Jim Blandings (Cary Grant) and his family, who have fled their New York apartment for the Connecticut countryside. The family purchases a dilapidated farmhouse and embarks on a renovation project from their worst nightmares. Not only is this film brimming with a star cast (including Melvyn Douglas and Myrna Loy), it’s replete with many a scene that will have you laughing and nodding your head in relatability. If you can’t get enough of this lovable story, make it a double feature by watching The Money Pit, an adaptation inspired by Mr. Blandings starring Tom Hanks and Shelley Long. —Rachel Silva The Money Pit (1986)Sunset Boulevard//Getty ImagesHey Zillow zealots, want to buy a mansion for $200,000? Watch The Money Pit first. If the Oscars (or more likely the Golden Globes) had an award for Best Renovation Movie, this one would have cleaned up. The 1986 classic stars Tom Hanks and Shelley Long as a young couple who buy a listing that is too good to be true—after viewing it, suspiciously, by candlelight. Taking Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House as his inspiration, director Richard Benjamin hilariously ups the ante—from the exploding doorbell to the collapse of the main Colonial-style staircase to the clawfoot tub filling up with disgusting sludge. In the effort to rebuild, Hanks and Long’s relationship nearly collapses too—an experience relatable to any couple undergoing a renovation. Caveat emptor. —Ingrid AbramovitchRosemary’s Baby (1968)Silver Screen Collection//Getty ImagesNot that you want the whole story to happen to you, but Rosemary’s Baby is one of my favorite movies to watch and think about when it comes to renovations, new beginnings, and the meaning and emotional promise that starting work on a new house holds. The movie depicts a newlywed couple making a home together; we are taken step by step from the blank, echoing, gloomy interiors of the Dakota to the cheerful announcement by Mia Farrow of additions of wallpaper and white paint, to the result: brightness and young energy as the defining impression in all the rooms. Director Roman Polanski very deliberately sets up the progress on their apartment as a timekeeper of the story and a trick on us, since as it gets more cheerful events grow darker. (Visually, the whole thing reminds me of Elsie de Wolfe, actually, and her effect on design at the beginning of the 20th century.) I’m not talking about this movie showing you which shade of white to pick, I’m talking about the real power behind a renovation: the dreams. It’s all in there. —David Netto Life as a House (2001)©New Line Cinema//EverettWhile it’s likely that your renovation will require many a therapy session afterward, it could also be the therapy. In Irwin Winkler’s Life as a House, jaded architectural model fabricator George Monroe (Kevin Kline) is diagnosed with terminal cancer. With a time limit on his life, he decides to demolish the shack left to him by his father and build his own custom house. He decides to take custody of his misanthropic teenage son, bringing him into the project and slowly reconnecting with him through it. If you need a reason to feel some kind of higher purpose in breaking down walls, this film will deliver that in spades. —Rachel Silva Something’s Gotta Give (2003) Courtesy of Warner Bros PicturesIt’s hard for me to just choose one film. I’m obsessed with anything by Nancy Meyers and Woody Allen! These directors’ films offer a master class in the details that transform a house into a home. Meyers’s signature kitchen porn—from Something’s Gotta Give’s Hamptons heaven to The Parent Trap’s London townhouse—has launched countless Pinterest boards and renovation dreams. Meanwhile, such Allen films as Manhattan and Hannah and Her Sisters showcase the aspirational yet attainable prewar apartments that define urban sophistication, complete with book-lined walls, original architectural details, and the most beautiful wood floors. These aren’t just sets, they’re blueprints for creating spaces that feel both elevated and effortlessly homey. —William Li Under the Tuscan Sun (2003)©Touchstone Pictures//Everett“Stop the bus!” This is the Diane Lane movie—based on the book of the same name by Frances Mayes—that launched a million escapist fantasies about buying a crumbling villa in Italy. For anyone even slightly susceptible (we are legion), it is hard to unsee the apricot stucco house in its overgrown Mediterranean garden in this 2003 classic and not imagine ourselves in Lane’s sneakers. The story, loosely based on Mayes’s, follows Lane’s writer character as she recovers from a bad divorce and heads to Tuscany on a bus tour. As she passes through the town of Cortona, she notices a sign for a house for sale. This is the Hollywood version of restoring a 400-year-old house, with an adorable contractor and lovable workers who bring a shine to the villa’s terra-cotta floors and frescoed walls. —Ingrid Abramovitch

What makes a kitchen “Scandinavian”? The style is celebrated for its clever incorporation of natural light—essential in northern climates with long, dark winters—as well as light, neutral color palettes. Wood is dominant while textiles like linen, cotton, and the rogue sheepskin can be thrown in the mix to add texture and comfort. Touches of stone, leather, and ceramics reinforce an organic, earthy aesthetic.Of course, it’s not all about looks: there’s also an emphasis on functionality, with sensible, no-nonsense layouts to make food prep and clean up easy. Trying to get your own Scandinavian kitchen? Luckily, you don’t need to renovate to bring the look home. Below, we’ve rounded up fifteen ideas to make your own cook space feel more cool, calm, and collected: in other words, Scandi.1Wabi SabiWilliam Jess LairdEarth tones are a hallmark of Scandinavian design. These muted hues blend seamlessly with the wooden finishes and the natural light flooding the space. Open shelving prioritizes accessibility while showcasing tableware and décor in a curated, clutter-free manner.2Bright and LightWilliam Jess LairdNatural light plays a central role in this space, with large windows and skylights maximizing brightness. Stainless steel appliances and a black countertop provide a modern contrast while ensuring durability and easy maintenance, while the hanging pot rack showcases tools as both functional and decorative elements.Advertisement - Continue Reading Below3Rustic Farmhouse Douglas FriedmanRustic wood elements like the weathered table and stools bring warmth and texture to this otherwise crisp kitchen. This contrast emphasizes the Scandinavian love for natural and organic materials, connecting the interior to nature while ensuring the space feels inviting and livable.4Soft SageDouglas FriedmanThis soft sage green kitchen in a Sonoma, California estate designed by Ken Fulk creates a calm and welcoming atmosphere, while the chevron pattern adds a touch of texture and craftsmanship. Attention to details, such as the brass fixtures and pendant light, infuses the space with warmth.Advertisement - Continue Reading Below5MonochromaticDouglas FriedmanIn this kitchen by Nicole Hollis, the cabinetry, absent hardware and defined by clean lines, emphasizes simplicity. The monochromatic color palette, dominated by soft beige and light wood tones, not only keeps the design cohesive but also brightens the space.6Compact and SubtleKirsten FrancisThis kitchen by Augusta Hoffman features a marble backsplash that acts as a subtle yet elegant focal point, adding texture and visual interest while maintaining the space’s overall clean and airy look. Integrated task lighting enhances the space's functionality while glass paneling introduces openness and increased light.Advertisement - Continue Reading Below7Modern and DurableSimon WilsonIn the kitchen of a New Zealand home with interiors by Jenni Kayne, the gray limestone kitchen island is paired with barstools by BDDW for a modern touch that maintains the softness of the overall design. The grey limestone kitchen island, contrasted with pendants by Rose Uniacke, aligns with Scandinavian principles of incorporating durable materials to ensure functionality without sacrificing beauty.8High-ContrastMagdalena BjörnsdotterWhite walls create a bright, airy atmosphere and reflect natural light in this minimalist design. Black accents, such as the chair cushions, decorative lantern, and hardware, create contrast while the pendant light, crafted from natural wood, brings an organic touch that softens the space and ties it to the Scandinavian affinity for incorporating natural elements. 9Sleek and SimpleRikki SnyderThis kitchen design is balanced by touches of subtle detailing, such as the shiplap ceiling and subway tile backsplash, which add quiet textural interest without overwhelming the minimalist palette. Functionality is a key feature, as demonstrated by the practical yet stylish central island, which provides ample workspace and seating.10Mid-CenturyTrevor TondroIndoor greenery and a bold monstera leaf vase add natural texture and a pop of color to this minimalist Scandinavian kitchen. Combined with functional elements like seamless cabinetry and a practical island, these features strike a perfect balance between utility and beauty.Advertisement - Continue Reading Below11California ModernTrevor TondroIn the Los Angeles home of Sophia Bush, a mid-century George Nelson light fixture and stools from the Danish brand HAY are juxtaposed against a sheepskin stool and bright foliage for a perfectly Scandinavian vibe.12Eclectic and PracticalTrevor TondroOpen shelving lends a practical yet stylish element to this kitchen, showcasing neatly arranged mugs and utensils without cluttering the space. The clean white cabinetry with recessed handles emphasizes simplicity as much as usefulness.Advertisement - Continue Reading Below13Modern FarmhouseMICHAEL CLIFFORDIn the kitchen of the Jenni Kayne Farmhouse, large windows reinforce the connection to nature while a simple Roman shade adds privacy while maintaining the minimalist aesthetic. Decorative touches—such as the ceramic vases and soft lighting—imbue the space with a cozy, lived-in feel without detracting from the clean design.14English CountryAdrian GautThe kitchen of this Houston home, designed by Ashe Leandro, features light blue cabinetry that creates a calm, inviting atmosphere, while also introducing subtle color to the neutral overall palette—a common approach in Scandinavian interiors to maintain serenity while avoiding monotony. The butcher block countertop on the island adds warmth and texture, while the rattan bar stools bring a sense of casual, rustic charm to the space.Advertisement - Continue Reading Below15Moody and RichChris MottaliniSlatted details introduce a handcrafted, organic quality that softens the otherwise clean and contemporary lines of the cabinetry in this Scandinavian kitchen. The use of rich, dark marble for the countertops and islands creates a striking contrast to the lighter wood tones of the cabinetry and exposed beams.Sean SantiagoDeputy EditorSean Santiago is ELLE Decor's Deputy Editor, covering news, trends and talents in interior design, hospitality and travel, culture, and luxury shopping. Since starting his career at an interior design firm in 2011, he has gone on to cover the industry for Vogue, Architectural Digest, Sight Unseen, PIN-UP and Domino. He is the author of The Lonny Home (Weldon Owens, 2018), has produced scripted social content for brands including West Elm and Streeteasy, and is sometimes recognized on the street for his Instagram Reels series, #DanceToDecor

When James Huniford founded Housing Works’ annual Design on a Dime benefit two decades ago, the ELLE DECOR A-List designer had no idea that the event would quickly become one of the marquee affairs in the New York design calendar. During that first year in 2005, says Huniford, “a small handful of designers came together at Housing Works' Gramercy Thrift Shop to create modest but wonderfully chic displays made up of donated décor treasures—all sold for a dime.”Courtesy of Housing WorksDesigner James Huniford (left) and Billy Cotton at the 2017 Design on a Dime opening night. The dimes added up quickly and the money raised (over $24 million to date) goes to a crucial cause: New York City-based Housing Works is a nonprofit dedicated to ending HIV/AIDS and homelessness. “It was a small first step,” says Huniford, who after two decades remains the event’s chair. “But evidently it was a strong one, because Design on a Dime grew stronger every year.” This spring, Design on a Dime is celebrating its 20th anniversary with its biggest celebration yet. The 2025 event kicks off on April 23 with a gala dinner and awards ceremony honoring designers Nate Berkus, Jeremiah Brent, and Alessandra Branca, along with Bloomingdale’s and journalist and longtime Housing Works supporter Tamron Hall. Design on a Dime’s opening night is the next evening, with a VIP hour from 5:30-6:30 pm, and general admission and sale from 6:30-9:30 pm. The free public shopping days are April 25 and 26. Courtesy of Housing WorksRayman Boozer of Apartment 48 created this vignette for Design on a Dime in 2024. For design devotees (and anyone in search of unmatchable décor deals), the April 24 sale and party are not to be missed. That’s where some of the top interior designers in the business—including ELLE DÉCOR A-Listers Mark Cunningham, Redd Kahoi, Yellow House Architects, Ghislaine Vinas, Danielle Colding, Robert Couturier, Nick Olsen, Leyden Lewis, and Richard Mishaan—will be creating model rooms filled with donated merchandise (marked up to 80 percent off retail prices) from companies like Ralph Lauren Home and Bloomingdale’s. Gary GershoffThe line for Design on a Dime in 2019. The event is held at New York’s Metropolitan Pavilion. Over the years, the vignettes have become all the more elaborate as designers try to outcompete one another. One year, Ken Fulk reimagined the Housing Works Bookstore as a Downton Abbey-esque library, complete with a living Adonis at the threshold. Another time, Eddie Lee created a scene in wood veneer and cinnamon velvet inspired by the French decorator Francois Catroux. Meanwhile, the duo behind Pappas Miron whipped up a Bordeaux-colored salon that conjured a 1920s speakeasy in Left Bank Paris. “The vignettes are Design on a Dime’s heart, genius, and joy,” Huniford says. “Designers coax blue-chip décor donations from dealers, galleries, shops, showrooms, and brands. Then, like sorcerers, they forge incredible interiors. They are like museum-worthy design dioramas but much better because you can shop from them!” Courtesy of Housing WorksAlessandra Branca created this back cushion in Schumacher fabrics for Design on a Dime’s 2025 Pillow Talk auction. This year will feature the debut of two new offerings. First, Pillow Talk, a collection of pillows in an assortment of Schumacher fabrics, by 50 designers, including Sheila Bridges and Billy Cotton (available in an online auction ending on April 24). There will also be a Brunschwig & Fils Bazaar, with five rooms draped in the fabric house’s textiles and designed by Robert Couturier, Sarah Vaile, Roxy Owens, Isabel Ladd, and Nick Olsen. For Huniford, Design on a Dime showcases both the creativity of the design community and its generosity and sense of caring. “AIDS perseveres as a hideous menace locally and certainly globally,” he notes. “And for people of my generation working in fields like design—that were previously literally decimated by AIDS—we'll always be compelled to remember —and love—who we lost, while looking out for organizations like Housing Works who have served and are serving still on the frontlines on so many critical causes in addition to AIDS.” Ingrid AbramovitchExecutive Editor, ELLE DecorIngrid Abramovitch, the Executive Editor at ELLE Decor, writes about design, architecture, renovation, and lifestyle, and is the author of several books on design including Restoring a House in the City.

Courtesy Ralph LaurenOnly one man could swing into the heart of Milan with a confident American swagger: Ralph Lauren. At this most recent design week, that’s exactly what he did. At the Ralph Lauren Palazzo, he showcased the greatest hits of his home collections from over the years (think NYC penthouse to Jamaican retreat to English country estate) alongside a brand new one, Canyon Road. As the name implies, it’s an homage to Lauren’s beloved American West, with ranch-ready motifs throughout. Materials like hand-worked saddle leather, brass nails, and sturdy oak are included in such pieces as an impressive dining table and chair and wing-backed armchairs. A showstopping triple-tier chandelier is crafted from naturally-shed antlers. And an end table takes inspiration from traditional steamer trunks, complete with saddle-leather belt buckles. Courtesy Ralph LaurenRalph Lauren’s Canyon Road collection. The fabrics were made in collaboration with Polo Ralph Lauren Artist in Residence Naiomi Glasses and her brother Tyler. “The Canyon Road Collection speaks to my longtime love of the American West—the heroic beauty of its landscapes, its unique heritage and the Indigenous people who have been part of preserving its lands and traditions for centuries,” says Lauren. “Bringing the most authentic expression of the West to life means working with the artisans practicing these traditions and sharing their stories with the world.” This year marks the third time that Ralph Lauren has collaborated with Polo Ralph Lauren Artist in Residence Naiomi Glasses. This time, she recruited her brother, Tyler, and together with Lauren they created fabrics, floor coverings, bed linens, and even pewter entertaining accessories such as trays, napkin rings, and salt-and-pepper shakers. Courtesy Ralph LaurenThe Canyon Road fabrics, in a home office setting. The Glasses’ work includes neutral, red, black, and indigo tones, which reference Navajo traditional hues. The siblings were taught to weave by their grandmother, and they employ motifs that she also used, including horizontal diamonds and four-directional crosses. The latter signifies the four directions of the Earth, while the Spider Woman crosses, which appear on a blanket, throw pillow, and entertaining pieces, reference the creator and protector of the Navajo tradition. One pattern is even named Peppy’s Blanket after a family horse from the Glasses ranch, and features butterfly diamonds after an original saddle blanket by Tyler Glasses. “Navajo weaving is a craft that has carried on through my family for seven generations and preserving these traditions in new ways has been so inspiring to me as an artist,” said Glasses when first iteration of the collaboration was introduced. “To now be able to share it with people around the world, as seen through my eyes and brought to life, is a dream come true.”

Courtesy MinottiMilan Design Week is an embarrassment of riches—everywhere you turn there seems to be another striking, bold seating arrangement or beautifully hand-painted plate. It's easy for standout items to get lost in the sheer vastness of design's biggest week. This year, as major industry players from home, fashion, and jewelry gathered in Italy's design capital, it felt like the number of outstanding pieces, installations, and experiences multiplied tenfold. To narrow things down a bit, we here at Elle Decor asked our editors to share their favorite picks. After a week of scouring by-appointment-only events, elegant showrooms, and, of course, Salone del Mobile and the Fuorisalone, here's what they chose. BuccellatiCourtesy BuccellatiI gasped as I walked through the mid-Milan dream that Buccellati created for this collection. I had seen the house’s beautiful home collection before—and coveted that bamboo silverware—but I had never before witnessed such large scale Buccellati figures, and with all that Italian handcraftsmanship intact. The ambition and beauty of it all was something to behold, and, ultimately why we all go to Milan and Salone. —Stellene Volandes, Editorial & Brand DirectorPoltrona FrauElisa Lipsky-KaraszThe Poltrona Frau showroom is in an incredible historic palazzo in the center of Milan, which they have carefully restored. It was a treat to walk through and visit their private rooms on the upper floors. The juxtaposition of the elaborate Italian frescoes and a very restrained Teahouse collection in one room was especially striking. The serene calm amidst the hubbub of Salone madness was a welcome respite. I especially loved a clever cupboard with hinged shelves that opened to reveal all the elements needed for a traditional tea ceremony. —Elisa Lipsky-Karasz, head of editorial content.Advertisement - Continue Reading BelowMolteni&CElisa Lipsky-KaraszGio Ponti, Gio Ponti, Gio Ponti! I will never tire of the great Italian master, especially in Milan, which feels like the perfect setting for his timeless creations. Molteni&C staged an exhibition of his wondrous “Impossible Objects” in the Poldi Pezzoli Museum, which showed his mischievous, absurdist side. Meanwhile, across the street in their newly renovated palazzo headquarters, I wished for this aerodynamic, seemingly weightless D.847.1 desk originally designed in 1947—it seems like it would make all my deadlines fly. —ELK​​Dozie KanuCourtesy Dozie KanuOff the Milan Design Week hidden path and up a curving set of stairs was an intervention by Dozie Kanu at Galleria Federico Vavassori, “not opposed to tossing bricks into the quotidian, your honor.” A steel and aluminum handrail extends the full length of the gallery’s three exhibition rooms, grounding visitors and controlling their movement. Kanu’s work is decidedly fine art, though sometimes with a dual functional purpose (see his sculpture in Knoll’s Salone booth), after all what is design if not tools to direct our movement? In a week of the brand new, shiny plastic seating, derivative works based on past classics, Kanu’s reuse of found and discarded materials is a breath of fresh air. Doubly so as the works on view take on a cosmic, otherworldly skin in Kanu’s hands. As the shows title suggest, Kanu’s highly emotional works are meant to disrupt. And thank God they do. —Camille Okhio, senior design writer.Advertisement - Continue Reading BelowSam Baron for Dior HomeCourtesy DiorAt the Dior store on Milan’s Corso Venezia, the French designer Sam Baron exhibited three limited edition vases inspired by Christian Dior’s fascination with botany and gardens. The intricate pieces, designed by Baron and hand-blown by Italian artisan Massimo Lunardon, are delicate feats of glass, with ribbed vases intertwined with petals on branches. “They are part of a numbered edition of eight, which was Mr. Dior’s favorite number,” notes Baron. Also on view was Baron’s collection of glass objects for Dior Maison, out this fall, encompassing everything from wine goblets to carafes. —Ingrid Abramovitch, executive editor .Hermès en Contrepoint Dinner ServiceAnnie GoldsmithThis thirty-three piece kaolin white porcelain table service is subtly, but characteristically, Hermès. Each piece is lined with colorful friezes—from purples to sages to a muted canary yellow. They’re playful and geographic, painted in watercolor by the artist Nigel Peake, and designed to mimic a musical meter. Certainly, any food displayed on these plates is undoubtedly sure to sing. —Annie Goldsmith, senior editor & digital leadAdvertisement - Continue Reading BelowCompletedworks at AlcovaCourtesy CompletedworksThe London-based accessories brand Completedworks showed furniture for the first time at Alcova, recontextualizing motifs found in their jewelry and ceramics in pieces like a cast-bronze chair modeled in fabric and re-created in metal through lost-wax casting (pictured) and a hand-built and sculpted console, stool, and coffee table made from clay, wood, and polystyrene in a silver nitrate mirror finish. —Sean Santiago, deputy editor.Adrien Home Office Desk, PoliformCourtesy PoliformLooking to ditch the dining table and finally upgrade to a home office desk worthy of a corporate high rise corner office? You and Jean-Marie Massaud had the same idea. The designer has reimagined the classic Adrien table from Poliform and created the brand’s first piece designed specifically for WFH bliss. High end amenities like a built-in embroidered leather desk pad, cable management and an integrated side drawer unit will keep any home office work tidy and chic. Of course, custom sizing is available upon request. —Benjamin Reynaert, market director Formafantasma and Cassinacourtesy FormafantasmaFor a practice rooted so stolidly in research and data, Italian design duo Formafantasma has cultivated a deeply lighthearted oeuvre. Same goes for the projects they conceive in collaboration. This year the designers conceived a performance “Staging Modernity’ in celebration of the 60th anniversary of Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, and Charlotte Perriand’s collections for Cassina. The happening took place at Teatro Lirico Giorgio Gaber, a classic, cinematic break to showrooms and galleries. Among red velvet folding cinema chairs, several platforms were erected with backdrops that mimicked the natural world and sculptures in the shape of lambs and rams. Performers repeated lines that emphasized humanities link to the animal kingdom, as they swung and stretched over Le Corbusier, Jeanneret, and Perriand-designed chairs and chaises. The performance was a poignant reminder of how closely life imitates art. —CO Objects of Common InterestPiercarlo QuecchiaGreek design duo Objects of Common Interest are often Milan Design Week's most prolific participants. This year they had six projects on view of which two in particular referenced their history as designers and people. At Alcova’s Villa Borsani location “Voids Rollers,” presented with curator Joy Herrero and gallery The Breeder, extended the studio’s investigation of movement via resins, rubbers, and melting materials. Several lights, stools, vases and pedestals, leaned on walls, hung precariously off shelves, and moved with each curious visitors touch. A short walk away in the gardens of Villa Bagatti Valsecch’s Pasino Glasshouses the duo showed a truly remarkable suite of marble works “Soft Horizons” quarried entirely from Greece. Some marble even came from the same quarry to supply the Acropolis. Sea, sun and land were represented by moving columns mounted in water and a sound installation by ODA. Both installations were a melody for material, encouraging visitors to consider the vast and poetic possibilities of our material universe. —COAdvertisement - Continue Reading BelowLee Broom for LladróCourtesy Lladró x Lee BroomLladró showed Cascade, its lighting collection created in collaboration with British designer Lee Broom, as part of Euroluce 2025. Inspired by traditional paper lanterns, the porcelain lights were shown in a custom-designed installation, hung in clusters in a mirrored “dark room” meant to pay homage to the emotive power of lanterns. Technically limited by shrinkage, Broom worked with the Spanish heritage brand’s artisans to push the fussy material to its limits. Known for its colorful collaborations with artists like Jaime Hayon and SupaKitch, Lladró ultimately let Broom be his “modular, monochrome self,” resulting in three distinct silhouettes that can be combined vertically in multiple configurations. —SSRimadesioCourtesy of RimadesioLong known as an interior designer and architect’s secret weapon for the finest built-in wardrobes, custom doors, and room dividers, Rimadesio took the big step of launching a new line of freestanding furniture last week designed by Guiseppe Bavuso. One standout: the Sinua chair which comes available as a dining or lounge chair and available in multiple finishes and materials. A lower magnetic back cushion is also available, helping to keep this piece always looking neat and put together. —BR Advertisement - Continue Reading BelowThe Library Project by Eleftheria Tseliou GalleryPiergiorgio SorgettiIn a quiet corner room at Alcova’s Villa Borsani, lucky visitors were surprised by a library of sorts. Instead of seats and desks, each artist-made book was presented by Eleftheria Tseliou Gallery on glass pedestals, with plastic gloves available to use as you sifted through each volume. Some books, like David Sampethai’s gorgeous tome 'For the Small Price of Your Soul,' showed page after page of unique monotypes suggesting the cosmic toll of transactions in the modern world. Another artist, Iannis Ganas, presented “The Runners,” a hand drawn typography quoting Paul Auster that could be read by the turn of a knob. With each turn the reader is confronted with running as a metaphor for the ending of life. —CONendo for MinottiCourtesy MinottiGracious, undulating curves repeat across the front and the seat backs of the Saki armless sofa designed by Oki Sato, chief designer of Nendo which has been collaborating with Minotti since 2017. The Saki collection features lacquered, almost floating seat backs that elegantly support the rear upright cushions. This poetic piece is poised to become one of the next “it” sofas. Its clean form and trim proportions allow this piece to fit nicely into smaller urban scale dwellings while its flexible design can also expand to fill larger rooms. —BR Advertisement - Continue Reading BelowCarlo Scarpa at Sofia ZeviCourtesy of Sofia Zevi.In the series of Chiarastella Cattana-lined cabinets that comprise Sofia Zevi’s gallery one held a particularly precious surprise. Nestled among tiny, rotund dishes was a green “Torchon” mirror mounted in Venini Murano glass designed by Carlo Scarpa in the 1930s. Like a snakeskin in glass, the circular ribbed frame of the mirror curves in waves set in a brass stand. The glass dishes surrounding the mirror fit comfortably in the center of your hand, in candy colors, fit for a single piece of candy. Beyond this cabinet the gallery was showing astounding contemporary glassware by Akira Hara and lighting fit for NASA by The Back Studio. —COLaila Gohar with MarimekkoSean DavidsonAs far as the story goes, we aren’t supposed to have our cake and eat it too. But Laila Gohar makes sure everyone eats, all the time, even if the cake in question doesn’t appear to be a cake at first sight. The glamorous Egyptian food artist partnered with Marimekko this year on a room-sized bed outfitted in textiles she selected from Marimekko’s archives. The colorful, candy-hued stripes were originally designed by Maija Isola and now stretch the full length of the Teatro Litta foyer where the bed was displayed. Gohar took the surrealist installation one step further by baking and serving a twin mattress-sized cake: the twin of it’s fabric counterparts. So now, not only can you have your cake and eat it, you can do so in bed, and if you’re lucky Gohar might be there to join you. —COAdvertisement - Continue Reading BelowOfficine GulloCourtesy Officine GulloStepping into the distinctive Officine Gullo showroom was like being transported to lazy days at sea. The Italian brand synonymous with luxury kitchens has dedicated their newest offerings at Salone to the growing yachting industry. Since kitchens on boats tend to be hidden away below deck, as it were, Officine Gullo puts the kitchen on display, making it the new heart of the home, at sea. —BRPierre Frey courtesy Pierre FreyIn addition to the colorful JC De Catelbajac pavilion erected along Via Fatebenefratelli, Pierre Frey also quietly launched a new collection of “Betty” dining chairs equally influenced by Gio Ponti and the sets of Mad Men. Available with and without arms, these pieces can be used around a table, desk or beyond, as the look smart from all angles and mix well with other furniture in living spaces too. I’m particularly fond of the structured base, the little kink in the rear leg and the idea of upholstering each one in a different colored fabric. —BRAdvertisement - Continue Reading BelowArflexCourtesy ArflexLike a loafer from The Row, the leather ruching details give the classic 1970s Marius&Marius sofa a distinctive style for those in the know, which is why I’m delighted that Arflex is bringing this piece back. Designed by Mario Marenco, this generously proportioned sofa calls for all of the good things that signify Italian design, comfort and originality packaged in a chic, iconic profile. —BR MeridianiCourtesy MeridianiOrganic shapes combined with glossy lacquer make this new desk as covetable as a Perriand. Equally viable as a desk, console or even a small dining table in a city apartment, the chunky proportions and graceful curves give this piece a certain presence that stands out in a room but can also mix well with antiques and vintage furnishings too. —BR

This year's Salone del Mobile has come to an end, but the show’s biggest trends are just starting to reverberate throughout the industry. From the fairground to the showrooms—and even occasionally the streets—ELLE Decor’s editors were on the scene to scout out the latest from the world’s biggest names in interior design. From rugs and textiles to window treatments and seating, here’s what we’re keeping an eye on from Milan Design Week.1Archivist Chiccourtesy DedarIt often takes a discerning designer to pull out fresh ideas from a historic archive. Such was the case last week in Milan, where Caterina and Raffaele Fabrizio, CEO and creative director of Dedar, presented “Weaving Anni Albers,” a collection culled from the Josef and Annie Albers Foundation including five jacquard fabrics. Situated high atop the sixteenth floor of the polarizing Torres Velasca, built in a brutalist style in the early 1950s by BBPR Architecture, the designers showcased each design as if examined through an archivist’s lens, complete with historic documents, old televisions and metal filing cabinets filled with neatly organized ephemera from the foundation. Each textile was showcased on looms, providing the viewer different vantage points to experience the texture, light and color within the orderly space and protecting the spirit of hand weaving craft traditions. –Benjamin Reynaert, Market Director2Unconventional Couchingrui_ t-space studioThe LIL daybed and ottoman, designed by Christophe Delcourt for Jerome Aumont’s Collection Particulière, were a potent mix of whimsy and practicality, shown floated in the midst of the showroom floor like plump twin islands. The two asymmetrical forms complement each other even when not pieced together like a puzzle, allowing for various freeform seating arrangements. I was reminded of designer Rebecca Korner’s Lagoon modular sofa series for the Invisible Collection, composed of sculptural pieces that hold their own from every angle. On the other end of the spectrum, Hem’s modular Great Sofa (pictured), designed by Philippe Malouin, was installed two-deep along one wall, effectively turning the sofa into a giant mattress. All fun new ways to think about communal seating. –Sean Santiago, Deputy EditorAdvertisement - Continue Reading Below3You're So Vain (And So Are We!)Annie GoldsmithAt Fendi Casa we saw a particularly luxe 70’s style vanity, which looks like a simple, yet beautiful, small table and unfurls into a mirror, leather chair and desk with cabinets on each side. At Baxter, as well, a semi-circular violet vanity was shown with an ovular mirror perched on an elevated shelf. Perhaps TikTok “Get Ready With Me” videos have ushered in the return of the luxury vanity—makeup routines are no longer confined to bathroom counters, but rather on display, on a buttery leather surface, ready for filming. –Annie Goldsmith, Senior Editor4The Joy of Gathering (and Eating)Jere ViinikainenBirds of a feather flock together—especially at Milan Design Week when there is food involved. To celebrate her upcoming bedroom-themed capsule collection with Marimekko, food artist Laila Gohar created a giant “bed-in” consisting of dozens of mattresses pushed together and dressed in the brand’s classic Maija Isola-designed striped sheets. In classic Gohar fashion, the event had an edible trompe l’oeil—the twin bed on the corner turned out to be a cake. Over at 5Vie, Carolina Levi of Rome’s Spazio Giallo Interiors curated an exhibit, Prendete & Mangiate (Take and Eat), consisting of a long banquet table set with color-drenched glassware and vessels by emerging designers. One had the sense that a wonderful meal had just ended—even the tiny house flies (by Utol Ceramica) on the table were made of clay. –Ingrid Abramovitch, Executive EditorAdvertisement - Continue Reading Below5Work/Life BalanceStellene VolandesSo many chairs and sofas you really want to sink into, but then gorgeous monumental desks like this one from Poltrona Frau that I’m calling Chairman of the Board. –Stellene Volandes, Editorial Director6Lamps-a-Go-GoCourtesy BocciPortable lighting is all the rage these days, with brands quick to introduce increasingly sophisticated versions of take-away lamps. Lasvit introduced a new to-go version of its Miles lamp, designed by the Elle Decor A-List firm Yabu Pushelberg; Issey Miyake unveiled its O-Series portable lights, developed with Japanese manufacturer Ambientec; and Lee Broom showcased a portable version of his sculptural Cascade series, produced in partnership with Lladro. And while not new, it was newsworthy to see Bocci recontextualize its sleek 14p table lamp, introduced in 2023, as part of an installation designed by The Future Perfect’s David Alhadeff to celebrate the brand’s 20th-anniversary. –SSAdvertisement - Continue Reading Below7Office HoursRomain LapradeBeni presented Intersection, a new collection of rugs by Studio Ko, in a crumbling former textiles factory. Displayed amongst an abundance of artfully arranged papers, typewriters, fax machines and chic office-inspired furniture mingle with responsibly woven rugs featuring five distinct weaving techniques. Heading back to the office has never been more appealing. –BR8Green Thumbscourtesy Marcin RusakGarden fever was a constant theme at Milan Design Week. At Laboratorio Paravicini’s ceramics workshop, a new dish series—Jardin a l’Italienne—featured stylized patterns of topiaries and hedges. In Alcova’s Villa Borsani, Japanese brand Noritake showed porcelain pieces hand-painted with roses by Faye Toogood, who was named the Elle Deco Designer of 2025, and who grows roses at her country home in England. The biggest botanical statement goes to Polish designer Marcin Rusak, whose site-specific Alcova installation in an antique orchid house on the grounds of Villa Bagatti Valsecchi, in Varedo, featured massive light sculptures shaped like orchids in varying states of decay. –IA

Grace Cary//Getty ImagesEvery item on this page was chosen by an ELLE Decor editor. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy.Spring is here, in all its bright if chilly optimism. Tulips and daffodils and hyacinth are everywhere. And you know what that means: it's time to start planning your home refresh. If you're doing Easter, you've probably got bunnies on the brain–dyed eggs (or potatoes?); chocolates, pastel everything. While choosing a chic Easter table arrangement is paramount for brunches to come, let's not forget the front door. That's right, it's Easter wreath season. Here you'll find 18 of our favorites, from classic floral styles to unexpected designs. 1The Holiday Aisle® The daisy grapevine$60 at WayfairIf you're on the clutter aesthetic train, this wreath is for you. Made from artificial flowers and foliage to look plucked from an English garden, this wreath says warm-weather bounty, and a good time. 2Primrue Preserved lavender wreathNow 36% Off$118 $76 at WayfairThis wreath, made from preserved lavender, adds a touch of pastoral flair to any door. It says cottage-core, French countryside, and of course, Easter. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below3Farmers’ market herb wreath$140 at Williams SonomaIt looks and smells4Citrus grove dried wreath$138 at TerrainWhen it's the return of the sun you're hoping to capture, a dried botanical arrangement filled with yellow is the move. No plastic, no eggs. A hint of green. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below5GiGAWOOD Spring Artificial Wildflower Wreath$18 at AmazonLean into color and the summer season to come with this wildflower wreath. Made with artificial materials, it will stay bright long after Easter. It's also one of the more affordable options, so try adding it to multiple doors, inside and out, for full spring impact. 6Lemon vine iron wreath$78 at TerrainNot everyone loves fake flowers, no matter how well executed. If this is you, check out this handmade iron wreath. With a pop of color and a weathered finish, it says spring, holiday and rustic, elegantly. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below7Easter peony wreath$169 at EtsyThis faux-floral wreath, featuring the star of spring, the peony, is ideal for mounting high on the side of a house, door or barn; from a distance, it reads as real, and its pop of color projects. 8The Holiday Aisle® Foam egg wreath$39 at WayfairForget the flowers, let's talk twigs and eggs: It's still basically winter, after all, and Easter is a celebration of bright blooms next to leafless trees. This wreath, whether it means to be or not, is an ode to the season and the holiday at once. 9Caracaleap Easter egg wreathNow 13% Off$40 $35 at AmazonThis colorful wreath, made from artificial materials mounted to a vine, will look good for as long as you want to leave it up (and next year, too, when it comes out of storage). 10Sitting garden bunny live wreath, 28"This cheerful novelty shaped wreath, made from bright green myrtle on a willow twig frame, is unmistakably Easter-themed. But, with its neutral color palette, can match any home decor. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below111-800-Flowers Blooming Cherry Blossom Wreath$80 at 1-800-FlowersIt's not real, but it sure looks it. And what better symbol of spring than the cherry blossom. This exuberant pink wreath sets the mood. 12Pauline Stanley Studio modern eucalyptus wreath$38 at West ElmFor some, Easter doesn't spell colored eggs, bunnies, or lavish arrangements. If your aesthetic skews minimalist, and your idea of springtime decor does, too, this wreath is a great option. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below13Faux Easter Wreath$59 at thesuffolknest.comJust because it's Easter doesn't mean you have to go pastel. This foam egg wreath shows up in its grays and whites, as festive as anything done in yellow and pink. 14Pink grasslands natural dried floral wreath$90 at EtsyIt's actually quite hard to find wreaths made from natural materials (that aren't living). This wreath, woven with rattail statice, wheat and avena shows off with globe amaranth and ammobium. It's a nap in a field, a cool but sunny day; it's Easter. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below15Mixed moss wreath$150 at TerrainLook to the forest floor for your signs of spring with this decorative moss wreath. With the bright greens and tans of lichen–made from "preserved clump moss, reindeer moss, sheet moss and lichen forms"–it brings a rich, natural feel to any space. 16Fun Express Colorful easter egg wreath$20 at Amazon$20 at WalmartThere's an Easter wreath out there for every palette. If it's bold and traditional you're after but with a hint of rustic chic, this is a nice option. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below17Fresh floral wreath$210 at wildthingsbhm.comReal live flowers fill this living wreath. While it won't last the season or probably longer than a week, a fresh arrangement can't be beat. Choose your own flowers to match your palette. 18Peter Rabbit™ Garden Wreath$79 at Pottery Barn KidsMade from rattan over a wire frame, this wreath features one of the most famous rabbits of all, Peter, alongside carrots and cabbages. Charming, is what it is. Charles CurkinArticles Editor, ELLE DecorCharles Curkin is ELLE Decor's Articles Editor, covering everything related to luxury watches, design, and travel, and has previously written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Paris Review.

Following the Sputnik launch in 1957 and Neil Armstrong’s landing on the moon 12 years later, jewelers looked to the sky for inspiration. A new exhibition at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, “Cosmic Splendors: Jewelry from the Collections of Van Cleef & Arpels,” explores how space exploration impacted our collective creative spirit. All 70 gems included were pulled from the Van Cleef & Arpels archives for a celestial reason, whether mythological or scientific. On view will be a full moon in yellow gold with rubies dating back to 1969, alongside topaz star clips to scatter across a lapel. Astrological signs grace pendants that span the 1970s and find their modern counterparts in the brand’s current Zodiaque collection. If fate is in the stars, best to keep the cosmos close at hand. The exhibition will run until January 4, 2026. Above: Clockwise from top left—Van Cleef & Arpels pendant, 1969, and clips, 1947; Zodiaque necklaces, $22,900 each, vancleefarpels.com. Supernova wallpaper by Studio DB, calicowallpaper.com. Produced by Will Kahn. Styled by Miako Katoh. This story originally appeared in the May 2025 issue of Elle Decor. SUBSCRIBE

Waking up in a bedroom that doesn’t inspire you is like starting your day with cold coffee—sure, it’s functional, but hardly the experience you deserve. We spend roughly a third of our lives in our bedrooms, so shouldn't we feel great in them?A groundbreaking January 2025 survey revealed that 38% of Americans reported better sleep quality after simply changing their bedroom color. Color psychologists have long understood that different hues trigger distinct physiological responses. Cool blues and greens top the charts for promoting serenity, signaling to your brain it's time to wind down, even lowering heart rate and blood pressure.For those seeking tranquility, soft whites, creams, and lavenders evoke feelings of safety and comfort. Earthy tones like sage green and terracotta create a connection to nature, promoting feelings of stability and grounding—perfect for quieting a restless mind after a chaotic day. Even soft pinks, once considered too energetic, can create a calming atmosphere when used in pastel forms.So before you commit to a color, scroll through our curated collection of bedroom hues that seduce, soothe, and surprise. Because in the end, the shade you choose is about how you want to feel when you open your eyes each morning. And you deserve to feel great.Warm TaupeCourtesy Todd EberleThe sophisticated taupe walls in the guest bedroom of Giorgio Armani’s Upper West Side apartment allows architectural elements like the stunning stained glass window to command attention without competition. For those seeking the elusive balance between timeless and contemporary, this shade delivers a masterclass in quiet luxury.Creamy WhiteDavid MitchellSwitching out a cool-toned white for a warm-toned one can instantly cozy-up a space, like in this Paris-inspired apartment designed by Omar Aqeel. Pair with natural textures like wood furniture or woven baskets to enhance the warmth, or add metallic accents for a touch of luxury without sacrificing serenity.Advertisement - Continue Reading BelowEmerald GreenBrittany Ambridge“Before the room was all white—the walls, the bed, the dressers,” says designer Peti Lau. Now the room is swathed in “the most expensive wallpaper” the designer has ever installed: An organic fan-shaped iridescent peacock-feathered wallcovering from Koket. The textured walls here create a jewel box effect, enveloping the space in rich, verdant splendor.Butter YellowHaris KenjarButter yellow is having a moment, and we can’t get enough. In Stranger Things co-creator Matt Duffer’s L.A. home, this buttery yellow transforms the guest bedroom into a sun-drenched sanctuary that feels nostalgic yet modern.Advertisement - Continue Reading BelowMuted PinkEric BomanIn Lee Radziwill’s elegant Parisian room, the delicate, muted pink has a subtle quality that allows it to function almost as a neutral while still adding warmth and character. The monochromatic approach—from the textured headboard to the crisp white linens—creates a cocoon-like effect that's both timeless and on-trend.Blush Beige William Jess LairdPeace is prevalent in the primary bedroom of this Connecticut cottage, designed by Clive Lonstein. The glossy ceiling plays coy with natural light, and touches of pink in the bedding and accents bring warmth without overplaying their hand.Advertisement - Continue Reading BelowOlive GreenTrevor TondroThe use of green in interiors has been proven to lower pulse rates and cortisol levels, and this Parisian apartment is here to prove it. This versatile hue works harmoniously with both the warm wooden elements and cooler blue accents.Moody BlueYoshihiro MakinoThe two-toned inky blue walls in this historic midcentury home in Tahoe create a horizon line that tricks the eye, making the room feel both cozy and expansive. Perfect for dreamers who find peace in the deepening dusk of day's end. Muddy RedCHRISTIAN HARDERIn this theater director’s New York studio apartment, the walls are drenched in a deep, muddy red that simultaneously brings all the drama and feels calming. When the draperies are drawn, “it’s like a warm cocoon,” says designer Stephen Sposito.Peacock TealSimon UptonIn the primary bedroom of Kim Hersov’s edgy London abode, peacock teal creates a theatrical backdrop for the four-poster bed. Teal is both energizing and calming, delivering a bedroom that feels simultaneously intimate and expansive, traditional and thoroughly modern.Advertisement - Continue Reading BelowMint GreenKelly MarshallWe are obsessed with the minty monochrome primary bedroom of Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird’s Soho dig. Mint green has excellent light reflectivity, which helps brighten the space while maintaining a soft, diffused quality.Golden YellowLaure Joliet“We wanted to be really bold, so we took an opportunity with this super-saturated golden yellow color [for the walls],” says Stephanie Luk. Benjamin Moore’s Citrine paint color is a sunny base for this welcoming guest bedroom in this redesigned craftsmen home in Pasadena.Advertisement - Continue Reading BelowBlue-GrayKelly MarshallIn ELLE Decor A-List designer Delia Kenza’s Sag Harbor retreat, the walls of the primary bedroom are painted in a custom blue-gray. The architectural pendant light, folded like origami, adds sculptural interest without visual clutter, and the horizontal window frames the outdoors like living art.Warm Mustard Stephan JuillardThe warm mustard wall in the whimsical bedroom of an eclectic Paris apartment creates a cozy, inviting atmosphere. We're loving the sunny feel!Advertisement - Continue Reading BelowGreen-BlueFrank FrancesIn this airy mountain retreat in Vermont, designed by ELLE Decor A-Lister Sheila Bridges, the walls are painted in Farrow & Balls’ Green Blue. Perfect for those seeking both rest and renewal, this versatile color works beautifully with natural textures, metallic accents, or complementary ochres and light browns for a balanced, timeless elegance.Walnut BrownWilliam Jess LairdWe have two words: walnut brown. Not convinced? The walls of this primary bedroom in a Hollywood Hills bungalow will help. Walnut brown delivers depth without darkness, creating a space that feels both grounded and elevated.Advertisement - Continue Reading BelowDeep NavyNicole FranzenDeep navy doesn’t merely decorate, but orchestrates a mood. In this Chelsea apartment, the navy blue walls creates a perfect canvas for the warm caramel tones of the bedroom furniture. This is color as confidence.Eggplant Purple David Land‘90s throwback! In this Brooklyn family residence designed by Danielle Fennoy of Revamp, the bedroom walls are covered in Farrow & Ball’s Brinjal paint. Have you ever seen a purple so sophisticated?Julia CancillaEngagement EditorJulia Cancilla is the engagement editor (and resident witch) at ELLE Decor, where she manages the brand's social media presence and covers trends, lifestyle, and culture in the design world. Julia built her background at Inked magazine, where she grew their social media audiences by two million, conducted interviews with A-list celebrities, and penned feature articles focusing on pop culture, art and lifestyle. Over her five years of digital media experience, Julia has written about numerous topics, from fashion to astrology.

Cut flowers are one of life’s quiet luxuries—delicate, fleeting, and entirely unnecessary in the most wonderful way. They exist purely to delight, to soften a space, to bring beauty for beauty’s sake. ​​And yet, who has time to hit up the local flower market every three days? (Maybe if you’re Kathleen Kelly). But what if we told you there are flowering houseplants that actually thrive indoors and reward your efforts with vibrant blooms? Yes, you heard that right—flowers inside your house, no green thumb required.Whether you lean toward sculptural orchids, cheerful African violets, or cascading blooms with a bit of drama, flowering houseplants offer endless ways to personalize your space. Some bring subtle fragrance, others deliver unapologetic color. And the best part? These varieties are well-suited to indoor living, thriving on windowsills, side tables, and anywhere else in need of a little lift.Ready to give your house some extra blooming energy ahead of summertime? Grab your watering can, scout out the best spots for sunlight, and let’s meet the indoor flowering plants that would be lovely fellow housemates. 1. Orchid (Phalaenopsis)Andreas von Einsiedel//Getty ImagesA London townhouse with a potted orchid. Few indoor plants feel as elegant and refined as the Phalaenopsis orchid. With arching stems and sculptural blooms that last for weeks, it’s the floral equivalent of a well-tailored dress—understated, but unforgettable. Phalaenopsis orchids are surprisingly adaptable to indoor life, preferring bright, indirect light and consistent humidity. While they do require a bit more attention—think of it as light pampering—they reward you with repeated blooms and a space instantly elevated by their prescence. Style them on a bedside table or bathroom shelf for a touch of everyday luxury. And yes, they may look like divas, but with the right care, they’re delightfully low-drama.2. Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum)FreshSplash//Getty Imagesa women repots a Peace Lily. The Peace Lily is the quiet overachiever of the indoor plant world. Its crisp white blooms and deep green leaves strike a chic, minimalist balance, but it’s the plant’s air-purifying qualities that make it a true standout. Perfect for bedrooms or workspaces, it thrives in low to medium light and even lets you know when it’s thirsty by gently drooping—no guesswork required. The white spathes (often mistaken for flowers, but technically modified leaves) emerge like little calla lilies, adding a clean, sculptural touch to any room. Think of it as your home’s built-in mood softener, with just the right amount of drama.3. Gerbera Daisy (Gerbera jamesonii)Elena Noviello//Getty ImagesA trio of potted Gerbera Daisies receive water. Gerbera daisies are the life of the party—vibrant, cheery, and always in full color. With blooms that span everything from neon pink to tangerine orange, they instantly energize any space. These plants love bright, indirect light and slightly moist soil, so a sunny windowsill suits them perfectly. While they may seem like they belong in a spring bouquet, Gerberas can flower indoors year-round with the right care. They’re ideal for adding a playful touch to kitchens, kids’ rooms, or anywhere that could use a little visual pick-me-up. Bonus: their long-lasting blooms make them look fresh even when your schedule isn’t.4. African Violet (Saintpaulia)Claudia Totir//Getty ImagesA potted African Violet in purple. African violets are proof that big style can come in small pots. Their velvety leaves and candy-colored blooms (think purple, pink, and snowy white) make them a charming addition to any shelf or sill. Unlike fussier flowers, African violets are content with bright, indirect light and light watering—just keep their leaves dry to avoid spotting. They're compact enough to group in clusters for a lush display or let one shine on its own as a delicate detail. Whether you’re going full cottagecore or just want a soft splash of color, this little flower delivers major appeal with minimal effort.5. Bromeliad (Bromeliaceae)Daniela Duncan//Getty ImagesA Bromeliad is in full bloom on a window ledge. Bromeliads are the bold statement earrings of the houseplant world—colorful, architectural, and delightfully unexpected. With rosettes of stiff, green leaves and brightly colored flower spikes that can last for months, they bring a tropical vibe without feeling out of place indoors. They thrive in warm, humid environments and bright, indirect light, which makes them a natural fit for bathrooms or sunny kitchens. Their unique ability to hold water in the central “cup” of their leaves adds a fun twist to care routines, too. Place one on a shelf or windowsill, and let it do what it does best—steal the show.6. Begonia (Begonia spp.)DuKai photographer//Getty ImagesA flower emerges from a Begonia plant. Begonias are a designer’s dream—versatile, expressive, and available in a stunning range of colors and shapes. While some are grown for their richly patterned foliage, flowering varieties offer everything from delicate blush petals to lush, ruffled blooms in shades of scarlet, coral, and lemon. Indoors, they do best with bright, indirect light and consistent moisture (but don’t let them sit in soggy soil). These plants love a little humidity, so keep them near other plants or a pebble tray if the air’s dry. Whether you go bold with a vibrant bloom or subtle with soft pinks, begonias add an artistic flourish to any interior.7. Jasmine (Jasminum)Penpak Ngamsathain//Getty ImagesFlowers burst from a jasmine plant. Jasmine is that rare houseplant that doesn’t just look beautiful—it smells incredible too. Its delicate white or yellow flowers fill a room with the kind of scent that makes you forget you’re indoors. While it’s often grown outdoors, certain varieties like Jasminum polyanthum can thrive inside with enough bright light and a bit of regular pruning. It prefers cooler temperatures and benefits from a sunny spot with good airflow. Perfect for a windowsill or entryway, jasmine offers a sensory experience: visually elegant, softly fragrant, and surprisingly easy to manage. Bonus points if you catch it blooming in winter, when a floral pick-me-up is most welcome.8. Kalanchoe (Kalanchoe blossfeldiana)Veena Nair//Getty ImagesA cluster of Kalanchoe flowers emerge in vibrant colors. Kalanchoe is the cheerful, no-fuss flowering plant you didn’t know you needed. This succulent produces clusters of small, vibrant blooms in colors like red, orange, pink, and yellow, and it holds its flowers for weeks on end. Even better? It thrives on neglect. With thick, water-retaining leaves, it only needs occasional watering and prefers bright, indirect light. It’s the perfect choice for new plant parents or anyone who wants the visual drama of flowers without the daily maintenance. Try it on a sunny kitchen counter or tucked into a bookshelf—it brings just the right pop of joy, no green thumb required.9. Hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis)C. Romance//Getty ImagesA Hibiscus plant in full bloom.Hibiscus indoors? Absolutely—if you’ve got bright light and a flair for the tropical. These plants are known for their oversized, flamboyant blooms that range from fiery reds to sunny yellows and soft peaches. They love direct sunlight and regular watering, and with the right care, they’ll reward you with flowers that feel like tiny vacations. While hibiscus can be a bit more demanding than other houseplants, their blooms are worth the extra attention. Use them to bring resort vibes into your living room or sunroom. Just don’t be surprised when guests ask, “Is that real?”—it is, and it’s thriving.10. Cyclamen (Cyclamen persicum)Predrag Popovski//Getty ImagesCyclamen flowers in a rustic flowerpot. Cyclamen is the cool-weather darling of the flowering houseplant world. With heart-shaped leaves and elegant blooms that float above the foliage like butterflies, this plant is equal parts charming and chic. Flowers come in shades of pink, white, and red, often with delicate ruffled edges. Unlike most houseplants, cyclamen prefer cooler temperatures and bright, indirect light—perfect for drafty apartments or homes with big windows and radiant winter sunlight. Water it from the base to avoid soaking the crown, and you’ll have a happy plant that flowers for months. When everything else is dormant, cyclamen says, “Watch me bloom.”11. Christmas Cactus (Schlumbergera)Boy_Anupong//Getty ImagesTwo pots of Christmas Cactus plants in full bloom. The Christmas cactus is a crowd-pleaser that lives up to its name, often bursting into bloom right in time for the holidays. Its cascading stems produce vivid, tubular flowers in shades of red, pink, white, and even coral, offering a bright contrast to winter’s gloom. Unlike typical desert cacti, this one hails from the rainforest, so it prefers indirect light and a bit more humidity. Water it when the soil feels dry, but don’t let it sit soggy—this plant appreciates moderation. With just a little attention, it can bloom multiple times a year, making it feel like your home is always in season.12. Fuchsia (Fuchsia spp.)Shimon Gabai / 500px//Getty ImagesA cluster of Fuchsia flowers. Fuchsia is basically wearing a ballgown at all times. Its dramatic, dangling blooms look like tiny chandeliers in shades of magenta, purple, pink, and red. Indoors, it needs bright, indirect light and slightly moist soil, but it’s well worth the effort for the payoff in floral flair. This plant loves cooler temps and good air circulation, making it a fun, unexpected choice for a bright corner or a hanging basket in a breezy room. While fuchsia isn’t the easiest houseguest (she can be picky), her flair for drama and vibrant personality more than make up for the high-maintenance moments.13. Alyssum (Lobularia maritima)Kinga Krzeminska//Getty ImagesTiny clusters of Alyssum burst out of a pot. Alyssum is the low-key charmer that sneaks up on you with its sweet scent and dainty appeal. These plants produce tiny clusters of fragrant flowers in white, pink, or lavender—and they bloom generously when given enough light. Though more common in outdoor gardens, alyssum can thrive indoors with bright light and cooler temperatures, especially near a sunny window or in a breezy kitchen. The plant’s soft, trailing habit makes it perfect for window boxes or small hanging pots. It may not be the loudest in the room, but alyssum’s subtle fragrance and delicate beauty create a quiet kind of magic.14. Lantana (Lantana camara)C. Romance//Getty ImagesOrange Lantanas can bring vibrancy to any room. Lantana is the rebel in the group—sun-loving, slightly wild, and always dressed in the most outrageous colors. These flowering plants produce cheerful clusters in every combination imaginable: pink with orange, yellow with red, even lavender with cream. Indoors, they need plenty of direct light and prefer well-draining soil, so think sunny windowsills and a light touch on the watering can. While technically a perennial shrub in warmer climates, lantana can thrive inside if given the right conditions. It’s a great way to bring summer energy into your home all year round—no SPF required.15. Camellia (Camellia japonica)Olga Peshkova//Getty ImagesA Camellia plant is as elegant as it is cheerful. Camellias are the debutantes of the indoor plant world: elegant, refined, and just a little bit high-maintenance. With glossy dark leaves and lush blooms in pink, red, or white, they add an old-world charm to modern interiors. These beauties prefer cooler temps and bright, indirect light, which makes them a perfect fit for sunrooms or cool, draft-free corners. They need consistent moisture (but not soggy soil), and they don’t like to be moved around—so once you find the right spot, let them settle in. When they bloom, usually in late winter or early spring, it’s nothing short of spectacular.16. Clivia (Clivia miniata)Haoying Chen / 500px//Getty ImagesA Clivia in bloom is a striking focal point in any room. Clivia is the understated superstar of flowering houseplants, offering bold orange blooms that feel like a burst of sunshine indoors. These plants are relatively low-maintenance, making them perfect for those who want a dramatic flower without the high maintenance. They thrive in bright, indirect light and prefer to dry out between waterings, which makes them great for those with busy schedules. A Clivia in bloom is a spectacular sight—its trumpet-shaped flowers appear in clusters, creating a vibrant pop of color that lasts for weeks. Place it in a well-lit corner or on a shelf for a striking focal point.17. Impatiens (Impatiens walleriana)Carol Yepes//Getty ImagesA showy pot of Impatiens is in full bloom.If you’re looking for a splash of color, impatiens have you covered. Known for their vibrant, showy blooms in shades of red, pink, white and purple, these plants thrive in low to medium light and are ideal for areas that may not get tons of sunlight. Perfect for filling in the gaps on a windowsill, impatiens are easy to care for, requiring only regular watering to keep their blossoms fresh. Their lush, full blooms add an elegant pop of color to any room, and their soft, trailing foliage makes them perfect for hanging baskets or cascading over the edges of planters.18. Hoya (Hoya spp.)jopstock//Getty ImagesThe Hoya flowers are a classic look that isn’t flashy. Hoya, or wax plants, may not be as flashy as some of their counterparts, but their unique waxy flowers and trailing vines more than make up for it. These plants bloom in clusters of small, star-shaped flowers, often in shades of white, pink, or red, which feel almost too perfect to be real. Hoya thrives in bright, indirect light, and it’s forgiving when it comes to watering, preferring to dry out between drinks. Ideal for a hanging basket or trailing down a shelf, Hoyas bring a touch of elegance and whimsy to any room—perfect for those who like a bit of subtle drama in their plant collection.19. Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium)lingqi xie//Getty ImagesChrysanthemums are a classic voluminous bloom. Chrysanthemums, or mums, are the quintessential fall flower, but they’re just as stylish indoors. These plants produce lush, full blooms in an array of vibrant hues, from deep purples to fiery reds and bright yellows. They thrive in full sunlight, making them ideal for bright rooms or south-facing windows. Mums prefer a cool environment and regular watering, and they’re known for their ability to bloom for several weeks, bringing a long-lasting burst of color to your home. Whether you use them to add warmth to a fall table setting or to brighten up a dull corner, chrysanthemums deliver undeniable style.20. Tuberous Begonia (Begonia tuberosa)Pakin Songmor//Getty ImagesTuberous Begonias flowers are the epitome of tropical beautyTuberous begonias are the epitome of tropical beauty, with their large, ruffled flowers that come in bold shades like orange, pink, red, and yellow. These plants prefer bright, indirect light and benefit from regular watering, though it’s essential to avoid overwatering to prevent root rot. The large blooms appear on thin stems, adding a sense of drama and grace to any indoor garden. With their striking flowers and compact size, tuberous begonias are perfect for creating a tropical oasis on your windowsill or desk. They're perfect for adding a pop of color and personality, whether you’re in a minimalist space or a vibrant, eclectic home.Rachel SilvaAssociate Digital EditorRachel Silva is the associate digital editor at ELLE DECOR, where she covers all things design, architecture, and lifestyle. She also oversees the publication’s feature article coverage, and is, at any moment, knee-deep in an investigation on everything from the best spa gifts to the best faux florals on the internet right now. She has more than 16 years of experience in editorial, working as a photo assignment editor at Time and acting as the president of Women in Media in NYC. She went to Columbia Journalism School, and her work has been nominated for awards from ASME, the Society of Publication Designers, and World Press Photo. 

Creating a scent and crafting furniture might not seem like practices that necessarily align. Marc-Antoine Barrois would disagree. The perfumer and couturier is unveiling a line of furniture, alongside a new perfume, in an installation at Milan Design Week. The installation, Mission Aldebaran, is named for the perfume, Aldebaran, which is a single flower fragrance focused on tuberose. The installation is located at Salone dei Tessuti, a 1930s Milanese landmark, now transformed into a “dark forest.” Barrois developed the installation with designer and artist Antoine Bouillot. The pair are also releasing a line of furniture—comprised of stools and benches—that are exhibited within the installation. KefferThe clearing at the end of the installation, with handmade paper tuberose flowers. Before their big Milan debut, Elle Decor sat down with Barrois and Bouillot to discuss the making of the installation and what they hope visitors take away from the project, long after Design Week ends. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.Elle Decor: First of all, tell me how this project came to be.Marc-Antoine Barrois: It all started when Quentin Bisch, a perfumer, made me smell tuberose. It brought to mind images: It’s a bright star in the night, a full moon, it’s the Patronus in Harry Potter that protects him, this huge light going out of his wand.I talked with Antoine and told him about an idea to create a space where people would be inside a dark forest and they would move toward the light. That was the starting point. Antoine Bouillot: My concern was how to make people feel, physically feel, what we had in mind. And so that's why we created this image of a forest with thousands of black ropes. We have about 87 miles of black ropes. There’s no direction, people are free to go wherever they want. And the idea is there is a tiny light in the distance, which, for us, really represents hope. By following this light, people will end up in a clearing where we have a paper tuberose field. KefferThe black ropes in the installation. Tell me a bit about the furniture—two benches (which each weigh 1,000 kilos) and three one-seater stools. How did that come into play with this whole experience?AB: In the installation, you go from something dark and kind of stressful to a meditative space where you can really gather your thoughts and be a bit more relaxed. So we needed people to be able to sit down and embrace the space.We decided to find little pebbles on the beach—a beach where Marc-Antoine lives—and we selected those very tiny pebbles like a child chooses pebbles. We had them scanned in super high definition and had them re-cut in rare marble to the size of a stool or bench. It’s the exact replica of our tiny pebbles we found on the beach. And, if you let children sit on stones in a forest, they are not going to pick the easiest stone to access or the most comfortable one. They’re going to pick the one that’s the most beautiful.KefferThe full seating collection. Marc-Antoine, what are the similarities one might not expect between designing furniture and a perfume? MB: A perfume tells a story. And I do believe that a furniture collection tells a story on its own. Even if someone gets one single seater in their living room, it’s not one single seater they're buying. It's the story of those pebbles.To me, the most beautiful place in the world is nature. We can try our best but nature still makes things much better than humans do it. That's my vision—being able to bring into people’s lives a little piece of nature. KefferThe original pebbles Barrois and Bouillot based the collection on. If you had to think about an ideal place for these pieces of furniture, what would it look like to you?AB: I like the idea of contrast, so for me it would be very interesting to see it in a Venetian Palazzo. I like this grand element, or something radical, like a Tadao Ando house, or something like all in concrete, something extremely pure. When visitors come to the installation, what do you hope they take away from it? AB: I really hope they're going to have an emotion. I know some people might just walk through and not be in touch with it, but I think some other people are going to have a much deeper connection. And that would make us happy.KefferTwo of the collection’s stools. What kind of emotion do you want them to feel?AB: For me, the clearing is going to be very relaxing and you’re going to gather your thoughts. I think it’s going to be a really personal journey which will be different for everybody. MB: It's oppressive and you don't feel comfortable in the ropes, but then we’re giving people the opportunity to express how we feel in our lives, how we feel with the news, with everything and, still, there's a light over there, and if you follow the light, you come to a place, as Antoine says, which is really relaxing and really comforting.I hope they leave with an emotion and that every time they smell the perfume, it will remind them of this emotion, saying that was an amazing moment.Mission Aldebaran will be located at Salone dei Tessuti in Milan from April 8th to 13th.Annie GoldsmithNews WriterAnnie Goldsmith is the news writer for Town & Country, where she covers culture, politics, style, and the British royal family.

It’s April in Milan, which means Design Week and Salone del Mobile, when designers, architects, editors and makers flock to the city for the biggest and most influential of international furniture fairs. Over the course of a week, ELLE DECOR and its sister publications—25 global editions among them—honor the best of the best in the design and architecture industry with the ELLE DECO International Design Awards (EDIDA); nominees and winners across 15 categories are chosen personally by the editors in chief of each publication. From outdoor furniture to tableware and more, read on to learn about this year’s winners and enjoy the best design has to offer in 2025.1DESIGNER OF THE YEAR: FAYE TOOGOODGiorgio PossentiJust last year we marveled at this multi-talented designer who had teamed with Poltrona Frau to make the seductive Squash chair. “I’d never worked in leather,” Toogood told us then. “It’s the first time that I created something soft; I’ve worked a lot in hard materials. That was a challenge for me.” Now, Toogood is being celebrated as designer of the year for the breadth of her work that spans furniture, accessories, and even clothing. Toogood is known for soft shapes (think squishy, like the chair) and raw materials (think stone slab seating), and painterly shapes, as seen in her collaboration with cc-tapis on Rude rugs. “The last two years I've put a lot of my energy into furniture actually, less into interiors, but it goes in ebbs and flows,” says Toogood. “Inspiration is so deep and so layered and if I think about for me it goes all the way back to my childhood.”2YOUNG DESIGN TALENT OF THE YEAR: ANDRÉS REISINGERGiorgio PossentiWhen we first caught up with the Argentinian digital artist (based at the time in Barcelona), in 2021, he was already making waves by creating cross-genre works for companies like Apple, Microsoft and Samsung. Now, Reisinger is honored for the depth of his scenographic architecture and dreamy imagined environments, both digitally and physically rendered. “I’m not trying to make a chair that is beautiful or will fit into your color scheme,” he told us. “Comfort isn’t the goal. I want people to react to the objects in their environment, be challenged, change their behavior.”Advertisement - Continue Reading Below3INTERIOR DESIGNER OF THE YEAR: PIERRE YOVANOVITCHGiorgio PossentiThis ELLE DECOR A-List titan’s work is inspired by days spent fashioning menswear. Based in Paris, the self-taught designer works on residential, hotel, restaurant, and even set design projects and is known for a mix of meticulous detail, soft lines, vibrant colors, and natural materials like wood, stone, and marble––for example, his 17th-century chateau in Provence––complemented by bespoke furniture––see this apartment he designed––and international art––just visit his gallery.4SUSTAINABLE ACHIEVEMENT: ‘100R’ BY HYDRODesigned by seven international designers, including Inga Sempé, Max Lamb, and Philippe Malouin, the ‘100R’ project by Hydro explores the use of industrial-scale extruded aluminum, made entirely from post-consumer waste with low carbon emissions. The collection features furniture and accessories with unique shapes and colors as proof that a commitment to sustainability can generate endless creative potential.Advertisement - Continue Reading Below5BATHROOM: FORMATION 02 SMART TOILET by SAMUEL ROSS for KOHLERGiorgio PossentiNot just a toilet but a mindset, we were immediately wowed by the Formation 02, and Ross, whose background is in illustration and product design. The toilet, which began as a drawing, comes with philosophical underpinnings made public in a manifesto. “It’s just the way that I work,” Ross told us last year. “Like, how do we kind of break this down into its component parts so that people can follow the journey with us?” The toilet’s seemingly rudimentary design merges advanced technology, employing ultra-modern molding techniques, with a brutalist aesthetic and sophisticated functionality.6BEDDING: SPHERICAL BED by KAARE KLINT for CARL HANSEN & SØNGiorgio PossentiOriginally presented in 1938 at the Danish Cabinetmakers’ Autumn Exhibition as part of A Lady’s Boudoir, the bed faced criticism for being designed for a woman living alone—to which Klint famously responded that “the world could do with more elegance and love.” Inspired by the proportions of the human body, each bed requires wood from a single tree and demands a full month of meticulous handcrafting.Advertisement - Continue Reading Below7FABRICS: AME by TERUHIRO YANAGIHARA for KVADRATGiorgio PossentiAme, meaning ‘rain’ in Japanese, is made from recycled textile waste. This upholstery fabric—Kvadrat’s first fully textile-to-textile recycled product—mimics rain-like patterns of traditional sashiko stitching that once gave new life to farmers’ worn garments. It comes in earthy shades evoking Kasane no Irome, an imperial court tradition of layering fabrics to reflect seasonal color changes.8FLOOR COVERING: JARDINS DU MONDE by TATIANA DE NICOLAY for JAIPUR RUGSGiorgio PossentiInspired by the serene Albert Kahn garden in Paris, these hand-knotted and hand-tufted wool rugs feature motifs inspired by natural landscapes from around the world, from Japanese Zen gardens to green English meadows and French floral gardens, along with forests, mazes, waterways, and pagodas. Behind each rug is made by Jaipur Rugs' network of 40,000 artisans—85% of them women—across 7,000 looms in rural Rajasthan. 9FURNITURE: STRIA TABLE by ANDREA MANCUSO for NILUFARGiorgio PossentiPart of Mancuso’s celebrated work for Milan’s Nilufar Gallery and inspired by nature, this table offers a new take on the traditional ‘terrazzo’ technique by arranging linear fragments of marble into a mesmerizing mosaic that mimics nature’s patient artistry—each tabletop and leg appears to have been shaped by centuries of geological pressure rather than human hands.10KITCHEN: MANTLE by PATRICIA URQUIOLA for SIGNATURE KITCHEN SUITEGiorgio PossentiThis free-standing modular piece is a versatile fixture that incorporates appliances and functional spaces, with advanced technology creating an unusual decorative piece. Its doors, clad in Cimento tiles made from natural materials, give the design a sculptural feel.Advertisement - Continue Reading Below11LIGHTING: LIGHTMASS^ by RAW-EDGESGiorgio PossentiLIGHTMASS^ by Raw-Edges is a collection of sculptural lights—including pendants, floor, and table lamps—that are a poetic exploration of light, color, and materiality. Each item, a 3D-printed ‘skeleton’ made from a mixture of sustainable bioplastics and bipolymers, is designed to appear as if floating in mid-air, evoking a sense of weightlessness and quiet wonder. Whoever said your lighting didn’t have to, itself, be in the limelight?12SEATING: ERNEST by JEAN-MARIE MASSAUD for POLIFORMGiorgio PossentiThe Ernest sofa, designed by Jean-Marie Massaud for Poliform in 2024, embodies a radical approach to comfort through its modular design and soft, deconstructed volumes reminiscent of down cushions. The sofa's structure, made up of three separate parts, combines wood and molded flexible polyurethane with down inserts in the seat and backrest, allowing configurations ranging from small, linear arrangements to expansive L-shaped compositions. But our favorite part about the Ernest sofa is its low-lying profile with concealed feet, creating a floating appearance that enhances its contemporary elegance.Advertisement - Continue Reading Below13TABLEWARE: PEZZENTE by GIO PONTI for VENINIGiorgio PossentiPezzente, designed by Gio Ponti for Venini, is a masterful expression of poetic imperfection rendered in blown glass. The collection was first created in 1946, featuring bottles and glasses crafted with a novel technique of hot-applied colored glass ‘patches’ to transparent surfaces. 80 years later, Venini brings this until now unrealized project to life in a tribute to the artist’s craftsmanship and creativity. Its name, meaning "pauper" in Italian, nods to a deliberate embrace of simplicity and restraint, and a quiet rebellion against opulence.14WALL COVERING: EGYPTOMANIA by LOUIS BARTHÉLEMY for BALINEUMGiorgio PossentiThis collaboration between French artist Louis Barthélemy and Balineum is a vibrant collection of hand-painted ceramic tiles that captures the essence of contemporary Egypt while honoring its rich historical tapestry. Drawing inspiration from ancient frescoes and hieroglyphics adorning Egyptian temples and tombs, as well as the evocative work of French photographer Denis Dailleux, Barthélemy brings to life scenes of elegant figures, playful animals, and lush natural motifs.Advertisement - Continue Reading Below15OUTDOOR: EOLIE by GORDON GUILLAUMIER for RODAGiorgio PossentiThe Eolie collection, designed by Gordon Guillaumier for RODA, is a modular outdoor furniture line that includes sun loungers, coffee tables, and gazebos. The design features wide wooden slats and offers customization through natural or painted finishes in desaturated shades of orange, green, and blue. Eolie's versatile components can be combined to create personalized "islands of comfort," making it suitable for terraces, poolside areas, or seaside retreats.

Every item on this page was chosen by an ELLE Decor editor. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy.Like a painting, the best looking coffee table arrangements are geometrically pleasing. The table used as a canvas can be broken into zones or segments by using the lines of books and trays; the eye is drawn toward focal points. Height and texture create intrigue. Colors compliment each other and so do shapes. In short, there’s an art to it. And while looking to the rule of thirds is helpful (breaking a canvas into three plains and putting the subject into one that’s not at the center), so is minding the paradox of choice (too many is too many), trying to adhere to rules before adhering to space constraints, furniture types and wall colors, can work against the coffee-table artist. Because no matter what you do, how you decorate hinges on the table you've got and the room it's in. Below you’ll find 10 coffee tables that have been arranged artfully according to their constraints, to get you thinking about how best to approach your own coffee table decor. Think About Shape Trevor TondroOne of the first things to consider is whether or not the table has enough to say on its own. Tables with remarkable shapes or finishes likely want very little added to the surface. If their presence in a room is doing enough to influence a room’s decor, leave it be. Add Depth with Mirrors and LevelsDominique VorillonA mirrored surface reflects both the objects on it and the colors and shapes around it; while it might sound redundant, it’s worth noting that such a surface can be used to enhance the impact of what’s around it, like a still pond. Go Full ArtMatthew WilliamsIf the room is busy or if the table isn’t really a table but a centerpiece, let it be one with a sculptural art piece as punctuation. It will transform your room from a run-of-the-mill living room to a backdrop for high art. Go in on ShelvesLaurel & Wolf, James TabbIf you've got a glass table with multiple surfaces to fill, the trick becomes organization. Use books to create sharp, tidy lines as well as pops of color. (Be aware of eye-catching headlines that can overwhelm other elements.) Use the Table as a FrameRichard PowersThe shape of a table itself creates structure. Use the outline of its rectangle as a frame by arranging objects below it. Especially if everything around it is carefully considered, stacks won't look like clutter. Maximize (Carefully) Stephen Kent JohnsonThe line between clutter and maximalist design or intentional clutter is in fact wide and deep: the former reads as messy whereas the latter two read as layered. Think of a maximalist coffee table as a canvas with heavily layered paint. The bonus of intentional clutter is the conversations that emerge between many elements at once. Often, more is more, but the trick is noticing how colors and shapes are complimenting one another. Create Topography William AbranowiczUsing a low table with an intriguing shape, go light on the tabletop arrangement and instead use a tall vase with a taller arrangement to create a gentle topography to the center of the room. Let it be a TableHaris KenjarSometimes a coffee table just wants to be a coffee table. Consider the room’s use. If its primary function is in service to family time, actual coffee mugs or toys, get a solid table (sans corners), and leave its surface alone to gather whatever it will throughout the day. Display a CollectionJames MerrellA coffee table that doesn’t need to hold drinks, as the name implies, is a great surface to display objects that want to be viewed up close or from above. Build a collection of rocks or shells, order them accordingly. Again, the important thing here is to draw on the power of symmetry and clean lines to project intent and curation. Three Tables Instead of OneStephan JulliardParticularly for larger spaces, you might need more than one table. Nesting tables or interlocking shapes add visual intrigue while also giving you three canvases to play with. Ideally, at least one table is left for function.

When the design curator Valentina Ciuffi and her husband, creative director Andrew Haug, needed more space after having their first child, they were hesitant to leave the Cita Studi neighborhood Ciuffi has called home for most of her fifteen years in Milan. For Ciuffi, a self-identified researcher who runs the multidisciplinary creative firm Studio Vedt and co-founded the collectible design fair Alcova, it was hard to picture the apartment they now share together, located in Caiazzo, outside the city center, as a family home. But Haug, who made the final decision after Ciuffis initial round of house-hunting, believed in what they could make it. Together, theyve created not just a home, but a long-lasting tribute to Milans spirit, their love of design, and the people who inspire them daily.Galileo RoccaHomeowners Andrew Haug and Valentina Ciuffi.The couple brought on Maddalena Casadei, who designed their previous home together on Via Stoppani, to oversee the necessary renovations. Primarily a product designer, Casadei managed to bring an inventive eye to the homes challenging floorplan and to find creative solutions where others might see limits. The apartment had an irregular, almost trapezoidal floor plan, with a long hallway, typical of Milanese homes from the 1920s and 30s, that ended in an unexpected triangular-shaped room. It lacked proper guest rooms and, though it had two bathrooms, one was practically unusable. Still, Casadei felt that the home didnt need to be redone, but rather tailored for Andrew and Valentina. My role was to support their vision, accompanying them in creating a space that would truly be theirs.Her first order of business was to reimagine the layout to instill order alongside personality. She dreamt up multifunctional spaces, such as a ships cabin-like guest room heavily influenced by Japanese aesthetics, fabricated by Stefano Monticetti, and found a way to give a sense of purpose to that long hallway, which now leads to a study and feels, per Ciuffi, almost contemplative. Walking down it each morning, right after waking up, is a calming ritual, and Ive learned to notice its architectural beauty, she says. Haug stepped in to support Casadei along the way, visualizing the layouts of certain rooms and turning Ciuffis artful melange into livable arrangements. In my last apartment in New York I finished one room per year over seven years. That can have its advantages in terms of detail, and its fun because each room ends up representing a moment in your life and taste, says Haug. I think the co-design process with Maddalena and Valentina has helped this project feel more coherent.Galileo RoccaIn the primary bedroom, the carpet is by Stefania Ruggiero and the curtains are by VIMAS. The painting above the bed is by Tuukka Tammisaari.The house was shaped by collaboration as much as Ciuffis vast network of friends and makers. In short, we are surrounded by our people, says Ciuffi. And we keep involving them in the project. Not long ago, during a dinner, Cristiano De Lorenzo, Joy Herro, and Andrea Mancuso went room to room with us holding a large painting, trying to decide where to hang it. We ended up in the bedroom, half of us perched on ladders trying to find just the right spot. Making a home this way is fun.Sean SantiagoDeputy EditorSean Santiago is ELLE Decor's Deputy Editor, covering news, trends and talents in interior design, hospitality and travel, culture, and luxury shopping. Since starting his career at an interior design firm in 2011, he has gone on to cover the industry for Vogue, Architectural Digest, Sight Unseen, PIN-UP and Domino. He is the author of The Lonny Home (Weldon Owens, 2018), has produced scripted social content for brands including West Elm and Streeteasy, and is sometimes recognized on the street for his Instagram Reels series, #DanceToDecor

When you fantasize about your dream bathroom, what comes to mind? Perhaps swapping your view of the medicine cabinet for a panorama of Los Angeles? Trading a wait for the sink for your own private en suite? Or stretching out in a deep tub ensconced in swirling marble walls? Extraordinary features like these can transform an ordinary, utilitarian bathroom into an ultraspecial space you never want to leave.While we're all about vintage everything, We're here to make the case for bringing your bathroom into the 21st century. Modern bathroom styles emphasize sleek, minimalist designs with clean lines, neutral color palettes, and high-quality materials. Floating vanities, frameless glass showers, and freestanding bathtubs create an open and airy feel, while matte black or brushed gold fixtures add a touch of elegance. Smart technology, such as touchless faucets and LED mirrors, enhances functionality, and natural elements like wood, stone, or greenery bring warmth to the space. If you're feeling like these luxuries fall well beyond your budget, we have great news for you. Sometimes all it takes are a few additions to get the look. Just ask London-based designer Kelly Hoppen, whose luxury bathroom projects would make Kendall Roy jealous. Modern design is practical and can seamlessly incorporate a classic bath with modern taps and joinery to create a more eclectic look, or even the shape of a tile can add a modern twist, Hoppen says, adding that sometimes all it takes is a focus on clean lines. Lighting plays a crucial role and should be as hidden as possible, she explains. Avoid overusing patterns or shades, as this can disrupt the sleek, modern look. The goal is to maintain simplicity and elegance throughout the design.Ready to talk specifics? Whether youre taking on an ambitious remodel of your entire home or simply retiling your bathroom, the pages of ELLE DECOR are a great place to start. Below, weve gathered 65 luxurious modern bathroom styles from our favorite designers. Go aheadsoak it all in.1Desertcore-Inspired BathroomDavid MitchellThese days, modern doesn't always have to mean cold lines and sterile decor. Case in point: the primary bathroom of this Soho loft, which was inspired by an Aman resort. It features a custom white oak vanity with a moon grey limestone top. The sinks were carved from a 1600-pound block of stone that was fabricated in Italy and brought into the space through the window.2Luxuriously Streamlined BathroomCourtesy Todd EberleReady for your sophisticated era? In Giorgi Armani's historic Upper West Side apartment, a Zebru marble vanity in a guest bath is the very definition of restrained opulence. If it's good enough for Giorgi, it's good enough for us. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below3Japanese-Inspired Bathroom Chris MottaliniThe homeowners of this Park City, Utah, winter retreat were enchanted with Japanese culture after a memorable visit to the country. So they tapped the design firm Electric Bowery to recreate its bathing culture in their bathroom. Here, an ofuro-style cedar tub takes centerstage atop a platform clad in softly gleaming black limestone tile.4Dark and Moody BathroomNoe DeWittThe primary bathroom of this Gatsby-era mansion is as dapper as its homeowner, ELLE DECOR A-List designer Alfredo Paredes. But dont assume you need Copacabana honed marble-lined walls to have this look. An open-shelved wood cabinet functions as a vanity, overseen by Urban Archaeology sconces and towering twin mirrors. Bathroom goals. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below5Metallic Accented BathroomThomas LoofThe fact that this bathroom hovers 53 floors above Manhattan actually isnt the most interesting thing about it. An evening at this Kelly Behundesigned retreat means soaking in a custom metallic tub beside a plush vintage Claude Bleynie tapestry. Our favorite detail? The idiosyncratic Janny Baek glass flower vase that brings a touch of sculptural oddity to the otherwise opulent space. 6Bathroom BuddyFrancesco DolfoGrace Jones makes for a worthy companion amid your bathroom break at Eric Egans 1890s Milan flat. The bold blue and yellow portrait works well against the rooms statement-worthy Fromental wallpaper. We especially admire Egans confident combination of wallpaper motifs and the Moroccan floor tiles, a pairing that creates a delightful tension. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below7Blue BathroomJohn Daniel PowersThe case could always be made for a bold, monochromatic color moment that refuses to go unnoticed. In his French apartment, homeowner and Rinck president Valentin Goux covered the spacious primary bathroom in bold Yves Klein blue tiles, a satisfying juxtaposition amid the apartments warmer hues. The colors become cooler in the private areas of the apartment, Goux says. Its a bit more calm, though still colorful, and reminds us of the bathrooms we had as kids.8Moody Marble BathroomAdrian GautMarble has been used in home interiors for millenniaand if its good enough for Romes best architects, its good enough for Kelly Wearstler, who clad the walls of this Toronto bathroom in elegant Calacatta viola marble. These deeply veined walls, reaching well beyond the standard ceiling height, are punctuated by a Lazzarini & Pickering pouf. 9Floor-to-Ceiling Checked Bathroom Adrian GautIn a bathroom of a Toronto home designed by Kelly Wearstler, the floors, walls, and ceiling are all clad in oblong tiles in alternating shades of bluea stylish (and Wearstlerian) twist on a washroom classic. Checkmate! 10Sculptural Shower Block PION StudioThe freestanding marble shower of an apartment in Poland designed by Paradowski Studio is an ultraluxe addition to the primary bathroom. The move is a smart way to organize the homes private spaces, while accentuating the towering ceilings. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below11Color-Blocked BathroomNoe DeWittIn the powder room of an Upper East Side apartment designed by Patrick Mele, the walls and ceiling are color blocked in various bright shades. The best part? This is a look that would be a snap to DIY. 12Antique Stone Touches Tim LenzDesigner Augusta Hoffman elevated an ordinary space by employing not one but three types of stone in the powder room of her Manhattan apartment, from the floor to the wainscoting to the rustic sink. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below13Bathroom with a ViewWilliam Jess LairdGenerous glazed doors in the primary bathroom of a Los Angeles home designed by Studio Mellone and Woods + Dangaran adds the ultimate luxury to the space: nature. But, of course, we also would gladly take the deep Waterworks tub, in addition to the view of the olive tree. 14Whimsical Patterned Wallpaper Bathroom Douglas FriedmanIn a San Antonio house designed by Lake | Flato, the powder room is sheathed in custom cactus-covered wallpaper to add personalityand nod to the arid vegetation outside the home. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below15Tiled and Tasteful Bathroom Simon WatsonLook closely and this Italian bathroom follows a relatively traditional format: white enclosure, white fixtures, and tile. But its designer, Filippo Chia, gave it an old-world aura with an 18th-century Murano mirror and glorious 19th-century antique tiles. 16Sculptural Double Vanities Kelly MarshallIn the primary bathroom of the ELLE DECOR Penthouse, designed by Fox Nahem, double vanity sinksset in a sculptural stone monolithgive the ultimate luxury experience, not to mention ample me-time.Advertisement - Continue Reading Below17Micro-Mosaic Bathroom TileKelly MarshallDesigner Mark Grattan went the extra mile in designing the home of sports legends Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird: In the couples bathroom, he eschewed traditional tile for a soothing sage micro-mosaic composed of teeny glass tiles from Sicis. Were here for these types of small wins. 18Double-Mirrored BathroomWilliam WalldronPainting your bathroom walls in white (in this case, Benjamin Moores White Dove), as ELLE DECOR A-Lister Richard Mishaan did here, makes for a sublime and moving bathing experience. The tub is by Duravit, and the antique mirrors are Italian. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below19Pop-Art BathroomFrank FrancesIn a bathroom this minimal, let the lips do the talking. The tile Eva Bradley chose is from Porcelanosa, the tub is LaCava, the marble side table is from Anthem, and the linens are from Room & Board. The artwork includes five Lips by Angela Blehm. 20Arch ObservationDouglas FriedmanFor a couple of maximalist makeup magnates, ELLE DECOR A-Lister Mary McDonald opted for a dramatic marble archway to frame the vanity. The bathroom also has a custom counter and mirror by Urban Archaeology and a faucet by Waterworks. The stool is from Carl Moore Antiques, the sconces are by Ralph Lauren Home, and the pendant is by the Urban Electric Co. Rachel SilvaAssociate Digital EditorRachel Silva is the associate digital editor at ELLE DECOR, where she covers all things design, architecture, and lifestyle. She also oversees the publications feature article coverage, and is, at any moment, knee-deep in an investigation on everything from the best spa gifts to the best faux florals on the internet right now. She has more than 16 years of experience in editorial, working as a photo assignment editor at Time and acting as the president of Women in Media in NYC. She went to Columbia Journalism School, and her work has been nominated for awards from ASME, the Society of Publication Designers, and World Press Photo.Charles CurkinArticles Editor, ELLE DecorCharles Curkin is ELLE Decor's Articles Editor, covering everything related to luxury watches, design, and travel, and has previously written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Paris Review.

Its April and its still snowing in Tahoe. In other parts of the country, early spring crocus has given way to daffodils, but in this part of California, with snow piling feet high, it is unequivocally winter. And thats actually the appeal. People come to Tahoe to enjoy the abundance of weather and the snow sports it makes possible. Tucked in the Palisades is one of the first homes ever built near the famous Alpine Meadows Ski Resort, in 1964. While many of the choices made by its original architects were curiosities to the Landed Interiors & Homes crew when their clients brought it to them, at least one made a lot of sense: The high, high windows. The house is on a steep incline, says Heather Menegat, studio director of Landeds Berkeley office, who oversaw the project with Tiffany Kim. And when they plow, all the snow just tumbles down and reaches close to the tops of the window. Its wild to see. But beyond the window placement, and the houses striking midcentury modern profile, the rest needed a hard reset to become the weather- and family-ready space it is now. Purchased early in the pandemic as a vacation home, the clients knew they wanted to spend a good chunk of the year in it, says Menegat, to take advantage of the seasons. They had a vision of signing up their two daughters for ski lessons, and regularly hosting friends and family at the house. The aesthetic they were drawn to was alpine aprs, and in Tahoe, this style can make sense, but were also not in Switzerland, says Menegat. The challenge was matching the exterior to the interior. Not every house has a strong presence, says Menegat, but this one did. We wanted to make the insides feel more like they were speaking to the outsides.Yoshihiro MakinoThe hall off the main bedroom became an office with a built-in desk. The wallpaper is by Casamance.In the last few years, Landed Interiors & Homes has been a rising star in the design world for its ability to do just that: Align the clients needs and desires for the structure theyre working with in a way that feels tonally coherent. Importantly, the crew has a knack for details that make a space feel elevated while also lived in. Take for example the room designed by founding principal designer Lynn Kloythanomsup at the Brooklyn Heights, New York showhouse in 2024, which featured plaster cast wildflowers and wheatgrass motifs along the walls. In the Tahoe house, the changes were also radical. The redesign was all about reimagining the flow of the existing space and redirecting the light, while adding ski chalet flavor and paying homage to the existing architecture. To manage what you saw when you first walked into the split-level housethe tops of the kitchen cabinetsLanded added slatted wood partitions decorated with a cutout star motif, similar to something you might see in Palm Beach, says Menegat; atomic, midcentury stars that were simplified and elongated to inflect the panels with that ski language of the chalet. In the living room, a huge fireplace inset in a stone wall remained intact. Were not going to touch that, says Menegat of their thinking. Its so hard to recreate stone in a way thats already pleasing. But new floors were added in the rest of the house. So was radiant heating, and new windows. On the walls went a tiered, Swiss-inspired molding.Yoshihiro MakinoSpace carved from the garage became a mudroom with long cabinetry for ski equipment and coats.The high, high windows in the primary bedroom were challenging. So was the laundry room, which, in the original floorplan, was how you accessed both the bedroom and a bathroom. Very vacation house feeling in that way, says Menegat. As a solution, they carved out a little space from the garage for a mudroom, where cabinets are now ski lockers for equipment, and reconfigured access to the laundry room. The bathroom became an ensuite. For wall and tile color in the bathrooms, they went raspberry in one, ginger in another, and teal-moss in the main. Deep blue grasscloth runs up against burnt orange Dahlia patterned wallpaper by Casamance in the hall office. We really strove to balance some of the less saturated, more muddy colors with colors that felt vibrant and fun, says Menegat. Another big shift was the kitchen, where full-length cabinetry was replaced by lower cabinetry, which really changed how that space is activated and makes the ceilings feel taller, says Menegat. In the center of the room is a free-standing butcher block parsons table by Union Studio for March SF in white oak that is narrow enough not to be imposing but ample enough to be usable for piling food. Throughout the house are pieces whose details are intended to highlight the hands behind the craftsmanship. For example, exposed dovetail joints on cabinets inspired by the kitchen of Ren Redzepi, the chef behind Noma, that actually work triple-time to imbue the space with an eclecticism beyond midcentury. We were thinking a lot about Japanese design and tried to bring some of that language in. Theres something about that detail, says Menegat, referring to the dovetail joints, that feels at once a little Scandinavian and a little Japanese and just works to shake things up a little bit. The art, by Bay Area artists such as Serena Mitnik Miller, Drew Bennett , and Lena Wolff helps shake things up, too. Central to Landeds work is making a redone space feel lived in. As a vacation home that isnt occupied year-round it could take a long time for appliances and furniture to settle and give off the warmth of a well-loved space. We wanted it to feel a little aged, says Menegat. We often like to make spaces feel like they werent all put into place at once, adds Kloythanomsup. Case in point: the brass hood over the stove, which is gently patinated. But the real triumph, according to Menegat, is the corner in the living room where new windows were added and brought down to meet the floor. It completely changed how the space is in the little corner, says Menegat. It was a game changer for us. Looking out from this side of the house, where the hill drops away beneath an elevated foundation and deck, it's as if the windows hover above the white snow below, comfortably lofted among the trunks of the pines.

Whether youre a closet organizing professional or a well-intentioned novice, getting your clothes under control is a worthy goal. But maintaining outfit equilibrium in a small space? Not so easy. Thats why we turned to the expertsour interior designersfor ideas to steal from some of their biggest, best projects. Whether its a lighting hack, clever door alternatives, a way to finesse fabric, or even just a really good tiny stool, these are the small-space closet organizing ideas were stealing from the walk-ins.1Keep A Stool (Or Two) HandyDouglas FriedmanSeating is crucial for putting your shoes on, obviously, but a tiny stool has the versatility to function in other areas of your bedroom (or throughout your home!).2Add a Slipper ChairDouglas FriedmanA slipper chaira slim occasional chair that sits low to the groundis the perfect small-space perch for popping on your shoes in the morning, or for artfully draping your next days outfit.Advertisement - Continue Reading Below3Use Trays To ClusterDouglas FriedmanYour closet might be one tiny sliver of your bedroom, but that doesnt mean you cant co-opt other parts of your space for closet duties! Take a cue from Nicole Hollis and use trays to corral perfume bottles, jewelry trays and trinkets.4Wallpaper The CeilingDouglas FriedmanAnd a little bit of the wallsbecause why not make a style statement in keeping with your personal style?Advertisement - Continue Reading Below5Create A Linen Closet In The BathroomDouglas FriedmanAnother great idea for limited space: Put an armoire in the powder room to use as a linen closet.6Revive The Valet StandWilliam Jess LairdIts not common, but in a small space it can be an essential! Just ask Mike Moser and Tyler Thomas, whose Los Angeles bedroom sports an antique rack for extra storage.Advertisement - Continue Reading Below7Color Block ItWilliam Jess LairdKeep it minimal but impactful by color-blocking furnishings and decorative accents, as Michelle R. Smith did in the home of Simon Huck and his partner, Phil Riportella.8Shoe Cubbies Are EssentialFrank Frances StudioAnd easy to buy or have customized, as designer Nicole Fuller did for her client Ryan Lee.9Try Glass FrontsNicole FranzenHusband Wife were onto something more than aesthetic gold when they opted for frosted glass cabinet fronts in this sultry New York apartment.10Make Hardware A Focal PointChris MottaliniReplacing the hardware on your closet doors to match your cabinetry or dresser is a great way to bring cohesion to a small space (if you cant afford to hire Husband Wife to do that work for you!).Advertisement - Continue Reading Below11Add LightingKelly MarshallHaving well-lit shelves using LED strips from IKEA can help bring light into the cramped recesses of a smaller closet.12Go High-GlossRichard PowersDarren Starr went with a high-gloss for his closet doors to keep the small space feeling capacious and sleek.Advertisement - Continue Reading Below13Turn The Doors Into ArtFrancesco LagneseIf you need storage space, but dont want to skimp on wall real estate, consider turning your closet doors into works of art unto themselves.14Bring In Color AND PatternTrevor TondroBrighten up the space with saturated colors and clashing patterns like accessories designer Marc Valeanu.Advertisement - Continue Reading Below15Get A Big MirrorTrevor TondroKathryn M. Ireland put a giant mirror to good use in her walk-in closet, but you dont need all that floor space to run with the idea!16Color Drench The SpaceHaris KenjarNickey Kehoe color-drenched the primary closet of this Los Angeles home, an effect you can easily achieve in your own space with a can of paint and some courage.Advertisement - Continue Reading Below17Get Rid Of DoorsTrevor TondroSophia Bush eschewed closet doors altogether in her Los Angeles primary bedroom.18Keep Tones WarmWilliam AbranowiczLos Angeles-based designer Cliff Fong opted to lean into his mid-century modern fantasy with a closet steeped in warm, natural wood tones.Advertisement - Continue Reading Below19Go DarkKelly MarshallDesigner Danielle Colding incorporated wallpaper and a moody black hue into a closet that packs a punch.20Throw Down A RugNicole FranzenAdding in textiles can help define the space and add visual intrigue, especially if you have open storage.Sean SantiagoDeputy EditorSean Santiago is ELLE Decor's Deputy Editor, covering news, trends and talents in interior design, hospitality and travel, culture, and luxury shopping. Since starting his career at an interior design firm in 2011, he has gone on to cover the industry for Vogue, Architectural Digest, Sight Unseen, PIN-UP and Domino. He is the author of The Lonny Home (Weldon Owens, 2018), has produced scripted social content for brands including West Elm and Streeteasy, and is sometimes recognized on the street for his Instagram Reels series, #DanceToDecor

Visitors to Alexandre Birmans penthouse apartment in So Paulo are greeted by a whos who of Brazilian modernist design. The armchair in the entry is by Lina Bo Bardi and Giancarlo Palanti, a pair of Italians who helped define Brazils midcentury style. There is seating by Sergio Rodrigues and Jorge Zalszupin, and a rare desk by Oscar Niemeyers go-to furniture designer, Joaquim Tenreiro. I like different styles, says Birman, a fashion entrepreneur who has his own shoe label and is head of the company that owns the fashion brand Farm Rio. But nothing is as dear to my heart as Brazilian midcentury design.In postwar Brazil industrial materials like plastic and fiberglassstaples of modernism in Europe and America were hard to come by. Designers turned instead to rich local materials such as jacaranda and pau ferro woods, leather, and cane. Often these elements were integrated into spare, even brutalist interiors, but Birman was keen to create a very different look in his home. I wanted more refinement, something more decorated, says the designer, who lives with his partner and three daughters. Putting my flat together was kind of like a chemistry project.Stephan JulliardShoe designer Alexandre Birman leans on a sofa by de Sede in the living area of his So Paulo apartment. He was drawn to the six-bedroom apartment by its ample layoutand by its breathtaking vistas of So Paulo. Im very picky about views, Birman says. Whenever I go to a hotel, I usually change rooms at least twice to make sure I get the best one possible.Nothing is as dear to my heart as Brazilian midcentury design.The location was also ideal. The 21-story building is in the citys upscale Jardim Europa district, just a 10-minute drive from Birmans office and 20 minutes from the domestic airport. Most of his family lives nearby, and he is also within a stones throw of a sprawling sports club with three Olympic-size pools, tennis courts, and a running track (Birman is an amateur triathlete). Im basically at the epicenter of everything I do, he says. I dont feel like Im in a city of 11 million.The apartment, in a building that dates from the early 2010s, had never previously been occupied. The previous owner bought it off-plan but never figured out what to do with it, Birman says. He, however, knew the perfect duo to transform it: leading Brazilian interior designer Meire (pronounced Mary) Gomide, who has worked for his family for decades, and her associate Caroline Marzano.Birman had a clear idea of what he wanted. He flew Marzano from Paris to Rome to check out his favorite hotel, the Bulgari, where the restaurant is paneled in polished walnut. This inspired the great rooms jacaranda-clad wallsa nod to Brazilian Modernism, to be sure, but with an added decorative flourish in the form of a geometric brass inlay pattern.Tour Alexandre Birman's So Paulo HomeBirman, who loves to entertain, also requested a dining table that could seat up to 16 people. Gomide created one in jacaranda and surrounded it with vintage Senior chairs by Zalszupin. The pice de rsistance: a 70-foot lap pool lined with blue sodalite on the upper-floor terrace. Its quite a feat of engineering, Birman says. It weighs 40 tons.Im very picky about views. Whenever I go to a hotel, I usually change rooms at least twice to make sure I get the best one possible.The designers responded to his desire for greater refinement by sourcing several Art Deco elements, including the dining areas Italian crystal chandeliers and a 1920 wood marquetry cabinet by the French architect Michel Dufet. They also incorporated some unusual vintage pieces, such as the curvaceous white sofa in the living area, designed by the Swiss-born John Graz, who emigrated to Brazil in 1920. The mix includes pieces by Brazilian contemporary designers, including tables and accessories by the So -Paulobased Lucas Recchia. He works with unusual shapes that add personality to any project, Marzano says.Stephan JulliardThe blue sodalite swimming pool overlooks So Paulo on the terrace. The result is an apartment that is not only strikingly original but also perfectly suited to Birmans lifestyle. His work means hes rarely in the same place for more than five nights in a row. When he is in town, he likes nothing more than spending time at home, enjoying a Sunday night cheeseburger with his daughters. I can count on one hand the number of times I go out in So Paulo in a year, he says. Everything here has been designed meticulously for my needs. Its very much my nest.This story originally appeared in the April 2025 issue of Elle Decor. SUBSCRIBE

Is that Jenni Kayne furniture we spy?

Once upon a time, the home office was an optional amenity in most residences. Despite being extremely convenient, the need for a personal office was eclipsed by co-working spaces and company headquarters. Then came 2020. Five years out, the home office has seen an arc from optional amenity to crucial to a little bit of both. And while remote work is increasingly a thing of the recent past, for many, the home office retains its prioritized status in the home. The problem with the home office, however, remains the same: How to delineate it from the rest of the house. What says, "I'm at work" about a random corner in a room? Though privacy screens, glass block walls, and even curtains are part of the equation, a little paint can go a long way. Choosing the right hue for your office is a big decision. Youll want to find a shade that can not only spark inspiration during creativity lulls but also one that can soften the atmosphere. It's also important to be able to stare at it all day long. We tapped more than a dozen designers to share their go-to shades for any home office. From serene blues to moody blacks and everything in between, these office paint colors are so striking that youll be tempted to work overtime.1Inkwell by Sherwin-WilliamsCatherine NguyenDark colors in smaller spaces can pack a punch and make a huge impact just through tone and depth of paint. In this case, we created a focal point by using Inkwell, a really dark but neutral paint color. The art and other details make for a contrast that is more noticeable than if they were hung on lighter walls. Zandy Gammons, Miretta InteriorsBuy Now2White Sail by Sherwin-WilliamsEric PiaseckiChoose paint colors that maximize and reflect any natural light you have in your home office space. Natural light energizes your body and mind! Try paint in beautiful whites and soft neutrals that seem to glow throughout the day as the light changes. If you want a bolder pop of color, layer in hints of calm blues and greens that reflect nature and bring the outside indoors! Phillip ThomasBuy NowAdvertisement - Continue Reading Below3Rosemary by Sherwin-WilliamsRaquel LangworthyI love to use a rich green paint color like Rosemary by Sherwin-Williams to envelop the walls in an office. Green is both literally and aesthetically easy on the eyes and feels natural and harmonious in a workspace. Christina KimBuy Now4Fairview Taupe by Benjamin MooreSarah GraysonBenjamin Moores Fairview Taupe is a rich, deep brown that pairs well with neutrals and blues and provides a cozy vibe without being too boring or expected. Erin GatesBuy NowAdvertisement - Continue Reading Below5Graphite by Benjamin MooreThomas KuohOur favorite workspaces incorporate bold color and pattern choices. We spend so much time working, why not be inspired by our surroundings? Benjamin Moores Graphite is both strong and contemplative so a natural fit for productivity. Emilie Munroe, Studio MunroeBuy Now6Fort Pierce Green by Benjamin MooreLauren TaylorA blue-green color is always a favorite in an office as it can help with anxiety while working. Thats why I like Benjamin Moores Fort Pierce Green for office walls or even a desk to paint [as shown here] for sprucing up. Linda Hayslett, LH. DesignsBuy NowAdvertisement - Continue Reading Below7De Nimes by Farrow & Ball Jacqueline MarqueI love the sort of diluted richness of this color; its more soothing than it is bold. Hattie SparksBuy Now8Card Room Green by Farrow & Ball Nick MeleThis color manages to feel warm, soothing, and grounding all at one time, which creates the optimal atmosphere for working at home. Despite being a green hue, it feels almost neutral to me while still adding interest and depth. Gillian SegalBuy Now9Van Deusen Blue by Benjamin Moore Paul DyerMy home was built in 1915 and had a classic pent room, which I converted to my home office and sanctuary, as I call it. I chose a deep, saturated blue from Benjamin Moore when designing this space. I recently read that the blue spectrum of light activates and awakens our brains, making this a perfect color for an office space. Kendall WilkinsonBuy Now10Dead Salmon by Farrow & BallJohn MerklWe are loving Dead Salmon by Farrow & Ball for home offices. The rich shade provides a warm and cozy vibe for the space you spend many hours in each day. It also provides a beautiful shade as a background for most skin tonesand with all the Zoom meetings, that is important! Kristen Pea, K InteriorsBuy NowAdvertisement - Continue Reading Below11Repose Gray by Sherwin-WilliamsTraci ConnellSherwin-Williamss Repose Gray is a wonderful, neutral option to offset the pure white molding in an office. It allows the upholstery and furnishings to shine when clients yearn to use pops of color. Traci ConnellBuy Now12Onyx by Benjamin MooreTraci ConnellFor my personal home office, I opted for Benjamin Moores Onyx to bring in the drama. With enough natural light, this dark, moody color made the office feel modern and inspiring. Traci ConnellBuy NowAdvertisement - Continue Reading Below13Butter Up by Sherwin-WilliamsGrey JoynerWhen I designed my own home office, I wanted a color that would be happy and create warmth to inspire me as a designer, as well as delight my clients when I do Zoom meetings with them. Sherwin-Williamss Butter Up is a great yellow that is bright and cheerful, yet not overwhelming. I find it acts like a neutral, so I can add elements of other colors in the space with window treatments, upholstery on furniture, pillows, and decor elements as it goes with everything. Grey JoynerBuy Now14Delft by Sherwin-WilliamsIndigomaven InteriorFor the ultimate Zoom-ready workspace, we love swathing the entire room in a single saturated hue. In various sheens, Sherwin-Williamss Delft can create a serene and sophisticated office sanctuary. Monica Guarnaschelli, Indigomaven InteriorsBuy NowKelsey MulveyKelsey Mulvey is a freelance lifestyle journalist, who covers shopping and deals for Good Housekeeping, Women's Health, and ELLE Decor, among others. Her hobbies include themed spinning classes, Netflix, and nachos.

Weve all had an experience like this: You walk into a high-ceilinged living room with light pouring in through the windows, and you feel instantly energized. Inspired, even. Or you step through the door of a cozy bedroom with soft lighting, a plush rug, and layered textiles, and your shoulders relaxin fact, your whole system seems to slow down. Thats emotional design in action: the idea that the design of the homes (and offices) where we spend our time can have a powerful effect on our moods and even our behavior. For Chicago-based architect and interior designer Anne Lukan, its second nature to create interiors that not only look beautiful, but also evoke the emotions their inhabitants want to experience. What I do is very personal, she says. I come into somebodys home and affect their daily life, their everyday, from the small moments to the bigger, long-lasting memories.Heres how Lukan approached the redesign of a Pueblo-style home in Scottsdale, Arizona, so it accommodates and enhances its owners every mood and attitude.You can feel the way it grounds you.Megan DiehrIts now a well-accepted concept (one supported by a slew of scientific studies) that views of surrounding landscapes and an abundance of natural light enhance well-beingthey can lower your blood pressure, reduce anxiety, and engender feelings of calm. Early conversations with my clients stemmed around this feeling of ease that they wanted to create for themselves, Lukan recalls. So she took every opportunity to showcase the desert and mountain vistas surrounding the Scottsdale home.The key, naturally, was to incorporate as many windows as possibleand Lukan had a specific aesthetic in mind: luxurious scale but a modern, minimalist design that would let the landscape speak for itself. Direct glaze windows from the Marvin Modern collection, with their thin metal frames, expansive sizes, and clean lines, provide elegance without the focus being taken away from the space and the view beyond, she says. Finding ways to capture the light, to give it a feeling of easiness, airiness, was something that we took a lot of care with. In the bedrooms (including a bunk room designed for future grandkids), a casita-style lounge space, and the kitchen, casement windows, also from the Marvin Modern collection, coordinate with the sleek look of the direct-glaze versions but open and close with a rotating handle to let in the desert breezes.To reflect the colors on view outside, Lukan layered the interior spaces of the home with furniture and fabrics in natural tones and integrated plenty of wood. You can feel the way it grounds you. We were very intentional about selecting colors that had staying power, she says. Thats something that we were careful about in every single room: Is this grounding? Does it feel natural? Are we incorporating something that is durable, inherent, and authentic to the location, to this space?Theres a lifting moment.Megan DiehrThe homes organic Pueblo style is characterized by rounded walls, fluid curves, and varying floor and ceiling heights. Lukan played with scale and designed an organic, undulating layout to achieve a feeling of wonder and inspiration as you travel from the door of the home toward its central rooms, with new details and visual delights appearing around every bend. The carving of those spaces, the soft archeswhen you come into the home, there is a feeling that gives you this moment of reprieve. Theres a lifting moment. As soon as you walk in, the space opens for you. And as you walk through each slight angle, the home is revealing itself to you.Very protected, very intimate.Tim BjerkThough the house is spacious and the landscape it sits amid is sweeping, Lukan made sure there were opportunities for the homeowners to retreat to a place of quiet and contemplation. One of the beautiful, underrated moments of the home is that right off of the front entry, theres this private, almost secret garden of a breakfast patio, she says. The patio is accessed through a curved window wall, inset with a glass-paneled Ultimate Narrow Style Swinging Door by Marvin. And though the area fronts the houseusually a very public spaceit is sunken and partially enclosed by exterior walls and landscaping, affording a sense of seclusion. You have this perfect opportunity for a personal coffee-for-two out front, Lukan says. It feels very private, very protected, very intimate.Its yet another example of why the spaces in a home should look beautiful, function efficiently, and reflect the everyday lives of the inhabitants, Lukan says. But its also about creating a supportive layer for their most beautiful, special memories of life.

Spring brings with it a multitude of joys: a new beginning, a spirit of rebirth. Its also when the days grow longer and brighter, allowing us to enjoy more of the benefits of natural light.It was precisely the importance of natural light in interiors that inspired ELLE Decor and its 25 international sister publications (collectively known as ELLE Decoration International) to partner with VELUX, a leading provider of skylights and daylight solutions, to host a global event in Amsterdam focused on this illuminating element in interior design. It brought together eight design experts from different countries, encompassing interior designers, architects, and design editors, all hosted by the editor-in-chief of ELLE Decoration Netherlands, Monique van der Reijden. Normally, people take daylight for granted, she says, but we really took the time to be aware of it. And the moment you focus on daylight, fresh air, and nature, they really trigger all the senses.Elle Decoration x VeluxELLE Decoration Netherlands editor-in-chief Monique van der ReijdenElle Decoration x VeluxFrom left: Anna Chwaliska, editor-in-chief, ELLE Decoration Poland; interior designer Tommaso Spinzi; Miminat Shodeinde, founder, Miminat Designs; Laetitia Renevier, journalist, ELLE Decoration France and founder, Billie Blanket Digital Media; Daphn Dorgelo, editor, ELLE Belgium; architect Katharina Buseinus Van der Reijden began by welcoming the others to the Maison ELLE Amsterdram, a 32-room boutique hotel, located in an elegant 19th-century building close to Vondelpark, that not only brings an inimitable touch of French art de vivre to the city, but also offers a connection to nature through its lush, light-filled garden. She then accompanied her guests on the 30-minute journey to take in the allure of one of the Netherlands most striking residences: the Factory House, designed by Inez Kuiper on the site of a former gunpowder factory in Muiden. Surrounded by forest, it stands on a natural lake and also borders the seacoast. Elle Decoration x VeluxBoth sections of the housethe main body and a perpendicular barn-like structuremake great use of natural light thanks to their VELUX roof windows, which not only serve to heighten its architectural impact with their rhythmic placement, but also transform the ambience and quality of life inside. Natural light from above gives a sense of fulfilment to any space, notes Italian designer and art director Tommaso Spinzi. Belgian journalist Daphn Dorgelo concurs: Daylight literally brings energy. Its a natural mood booster, and a space enhancer as well, of course. The benefits of natural light are beyond doubt; study after study has demonstrated just how essential it is to a healthy lifestyle. A review published in December 2021 concluded that each additional hour spent in natural light was linked to a corresponding decrease in the risk of developing long-term depression. Natural light may also improve our energy levels, powers of concentration, creativity, and sleep patterns.Elle Decoration x VeluxElle Decoration x VeluxAlso, as Germany-based architect Katharina Buseinus notes, natural light makes a room more aesthetic, spacious, and invitingas is well evidenced by the VELUX roof windows at the Factory House, which help to flood the interior with dramatic and ever-evolving interplays of daylight and shadow, enhancing the design of each room. Radiant rays of sun shimmer on the black steel staircase. Textural fabrics and woods are brought alive, and the beauty of each architectural detail made clearly visible. VELUX skylights also provide a constant connection with nature (Buseinus, for one, says she loves falling asleep underneath the stars) and draw the eye beyond the limits of a structure, inspiring moments of reverie. And they ensure a healthier indoor environment with cleaner air, thanks to the stack effect whereby stale air is drawn out through the skylights and replaced by fresh air entering on the lower floors.Elle Decoration x VeluxElle Decoration x VeluxAt the Factory House, the roof windows are activated remotely via the VELUX Active app, which not only allows them to be opened and closed, but also for their anti-heat blackout shutters to be drawn like shadesan essential function as spring turns to summer. In this season, their durable aluminium design blocks out natural light, helping to reduce indoor temperatures by up to five degrees, allowing those indoors to remain cool no matter how much the sun sizzles. Elle Decoration x VeluxElle Decoration x VeluxAnd what did the group take away at the end of their visit? That natural light is the healthiest thing you can have, says Van der Reijden. It isnt just something we see. Its something we feel. It inspires, connects, and transforms us. Explore further at VELUX.com.

Your kitchen feeling a bit drab? You dont have to put a sledgehammer through the wall to give your space a new look. Sometimes, its simply a matter of adding a fresh coat of paint, some statement tiles, et voil! But other times, all you need is one addition: backsplash tiles. Whether its a cheeky patterned inlay, an unexpected metallic backdrop, antique ceramic gems, or classic white subway tiles, the perfect kitchen backsplash can be the final touch that brings your design scheme together for the cooking space of your dreams.Tile is design eye candy, says Anna Lood with Clay Imports. It is such an effective way to bring texture, movement, and life into a space. When selecting the right tile for your kitchen, Lood recommends thinking outside the box while staying true to the space. Why not take it all the way up to the ceiling or create an unexpected statement wall? One-of-a-kind patterns, clever layouts, or playful shapes are easy ways to create an intriguing stop and stare moment.Wherever you fall on the chef spectrum (no judgment, HelloFreshers!), we've pulled 75 inspiring images from the pages of our archives. There's no doubt that your kitchen will, indeed, stop all your houseguests in their tracks and make them gawk.1Small But MightyDouglas FriedmanIn this vibrant 5,800-square-foot Bay Area retreat, ELLE DECOR A-List designer Ken Fulk devised an open-concept great room where the familyincluding teenage daughter Isadoraspends the most time together. A small area features Italian tiles that contrast well with the room's pink flourishesproof that small vignettes can pack a mighty punch. 2The Art of CookingGiulio GhirardiIf your cabinets make their own statement, consider tiles that complement them. In this Paris getaway, the custom green cabinetry is accentuated by a backsplash in tiles hand-painted by artist Matthieu Cosse. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below3Kitchen MuralsDEA / A. DAGLI ORTI//Getty ImagesTake a page from this mural-filled kitchen in Valenza, Spain. The kitchen, which dates back to the 18th century, shows scenes of daily life depicted on azulejos tiles. 4Spanish-Style TilesAdrian GautIn a new Spanish-style Houston house designed by Curtis & Windham architects, with interiors by Ashe Leandro, the kitchens diamond-patterned floor mixes reclaimed terra-cotta tiles from Chateau Domingue and acid-washed limestone tiles from ABC Stone. The kitchen's backsplash tiles are the cherry on top.Advertisement - Continue Reading Below5Neutral Culinary BackdropLaure JolietWe love a laquered shine. In the kitchen of this 155-year-old house in Massachusetts, painted in Atmospheric by Benjamin Moore, the kitchen tiles provide a much-needed neutral backdrop that is practically gleamingno matter how much spaghetti sauce is thrown at it. 6Hand-Painted TilesAdrian GautWhoever said a monochromatic moment is boring? In this Florida pied--terre, the kitchens backsplash and ceiling tiles are custom-painted by Matthieu Cosse. Ivory on ivory never looked so good.Advertisement - Continue Reading Below7Reusable TileHaris Kenjar The striking burnt orange tile backsplash of this Los Angeles home was a holdover from ELLE DECOR A-List design firm Nickey Kehoe's first renovation of the house. It was a color that liked being in the house, she laughs. Points for sustainability!8Brutalist BacksplashPatrick BillerThe cooking space of this lowkey Toronto home features a custom backsplash that nearly steals the show. The wall is ornamented in Brutalist-inspired tiles by local artist Catherine Carroll of Black Rock Tile Studio. A shelf, illuminated by vintage Charlotte Perriand sconces, showcases a bevy of vintage vessels. Who needs wall space for art?9Bold and BrightEric PiaseckiDesigner Ellie Cullman (with Cullman & Kravis) was not afraid to take some chances here, with this stunning hexagon backsplash by Studium, which provides a satisfying distinction from the pops of yellow throughout this New Jersey family kitchen. The hood range ties the color scheme together in a resulting fanfare of color and contrast. 10Terra-Cotta Badksplash TilesRichard PowersThe raked-edge countertop of this seaside guest retreat is White Macaubas quartzite, and the terra-cotta backsplash tiles are from Mosaic House. The island sink fittings are by Waterworks, and the vintage pendants are from Ollier.Advertisement - Continue Reading Below11Small and Sweet BlacksplashWilliam Jess LairdKitchen backsplashes do not have to turn into soaring statement walls to truly make a statement. This one, by Studio Muka, is perfectly contained and plays off the floors reclaimed terra-cotta, as well as the olive green walls that enclose it. The tiles have an almost mother-of-pearl sheen to themboth relaxing and refreshing to the eye.12Chevron BacksplashPieter EstersohnNo, chevron is not strictly a 2015 thing. This print stands the test of time and is used here by designer Anne-Marie Midy, in the form of talavera tilesto add a bit of playfulness to the rust-orange walls and pine cabinets. Imagine this being the first thing you see when stepping out of the bedroom for your morning coffee. Instant invigoration!Advertisement - Continue Reading Below13Color-Block BacksplashHelenio BarbettaIn the kitchen of artist Julie Polidoro, the backsplash is kept to a subtle and unimposing strip of tiles rimmed with marblesharply contrasting with the neon green walls. These are Sicilian tiles, to be exact: a great choice when it comes to infusing the space with some timeless geometric appeal. Sicily is callinganswer!14Dark and Dreamy BacksplashSimon UptonThis ceramic backsplash by Portuguese artist Bela Silva, in an Eric Allartdesigned apartment, would be a bit emo if it werent boosted by the painted pink walls above and pops of color in the form of the red kitchen chair, similarly red countertop, and that blue fish-vase hybrid (!). Look at how the tile material shines. Let it inspire your upcoming kitchen reno.Advertisement - Continue Reading Below15Hexagon BacksplashStephen Kent JohnsonThough you can barely make them out, the galley kitchen here is treated to a backsplash of gemstone green hexagonal tiles. Gone are the days when the only pop of color in a kitchen had to be relegated to the rug. Thinking outside the box for backsplashes (in terms of tile shape and hue) has never felt better.16Bespoke BacksplashJohn Daniel PowersDid you expect to witness designs of chile peppers and harissa tubes on a tiled kitchen backsplash? Neither did we, but this apartment in France proves that good design doesnt have to be so serious. The aforementioned harissa tubes actually bear the homeowners names in Arabicshowing that the possibilities for customization are endless!Advertisement - Continue Reading Below17Bold and BrightOfficine GulloOfficine Gullos design of this farmstead-turned-luxury hospitality space, Tenuta Carleone in Radda, Italy, is honing all the vibes of its bucolic setting. Patterned tiles create a stunning mosaic that is bordered by warm sunshine-yellow cabinetry with stainless steel appliances and polished chrome hardware. With an abundance of natural light shining through the arched windows, the kitchen is a sun-splashed utopia. 18Quartzite BacksplashTim LenzYoure going to see a lot of subway tile backsplashes in this roundup, primarily because they bear a classic shape, are easy to install, and bestow an understated kind of sophistication upon any kitchen space. The cooking hub in this Pappas Mirondesigned Greenwich Village apartment is made even more elevated through the addition of brown quartzite (versus the comparatively ubiquitous marble) countertops. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below19Chipped CharmJana Roach / Riad TileDesigner Jana Roach cant stop gushing about her four-inch Riad Snow zellige tile backsplashand we cant blame her when it looks this good. I adore zellige tile, she tells ELLE DECOR. It transcends trends and decor styles. It has the best texture, and the natural variation in color adds so much depth and character to my kitchen. If you look closely, no tiles are exactly the same, with their individual pits, cracks, and chipped edges. For Roach, that adds to its charm. It gives my space a one-of-a-kind, handmade feel that perfectly complements my preference for old furniture and natural materials. 20Streamlined StyleLindsey DrewesInterior designer Madison Lussier had her work cut out for her before she renovated the kitchen in this Santa Barbara, California, home. Originally there was a very heavy-feeling hood with molding that had carved grapevines in it, and the cream crackle subway tile thats in the rest of the kitchen was behind the range as well, Lussier explains. She replaced the hood with a much simpler look that matched the cabinetry and framed it all out in a more rustic wood. I really love the way it turned out, she adds. I think it complements and draws attention to the stunning LaCanche range so much more than the original design.Rachel SilvaAssociate Digital EditorRachel Silva is the associate digital editor at ELLE DECOR, where she covers all things design, architecture, and lifestyle. She also oversees the publications feature article coverage, and is, at any moment, knee-deep in an investigation on everything from the best spa gifts to the best faux florals on the internet right now. She has more than 16 years of experience in editorial, working as a photo assignment editor at Time and acting as the president of Women in Media in NYC. She went to Columbia Journalism School, and her work has been nominated for awards from ASME, the Society of Publication Designers, and World Press Photo.Stacia DatskovskaAssistant Digital EditorStacia Datskovska is the assistant digital editor at ELLE DECOR, where she covers news, trends, and ideas in the world of design. She also writes product reviews (like roundups of the top firepits or sheet sets)infusing them with authority and wit. As an e-commerce intern at Mashable, Stacia wrote data-driven reviews of everything from e-readers to stationary bikes to robot vacuums. Stacias culture and lifestyle bylines have appeared in outlets like USA Today, Boston Globe, Teen Vogue, Food & Wine, and Brooklyn Magazine.

Every item on this page was chosen by an ELLE Decor editor. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy. Before they became universally reviled, glass bricks were everywhere. Shower walls were glass brick. Small windows were glass brick, so were bars. Through their bubbled double walls, light played. Neon was usually involved. To this day theyre everywhere in Pittsburgh (before it was a steel town, writes Jakob Lazzaro, it was a glass-industry town; It really has been, in many ways, Pittsburgh's hidden industry said Anne Madarasz, chief historian at the Heinz History Center, when interviewed by WESA in January).The glass brick began to lose ground with the it crowd sometime in the 1980s. First of all, there were overused. Second, because they require some finesse to install, there were a lot of poor examples. They can also be tough to clean. But that was then. Now, in the bright light of 2025, theres a new glass blockwhich is, yes, not the same as the brick. "A glass brick is a solid piece of glass. It is made by pouring a molten mixture of soda ash, silica particles and other components into a single mould," according to the experts at Quality Glass Block & Window. "When a glass block is manufactured, the molten mixture is poured into two moulds to form two halves of a glass block. The two halves are sealed together, creating the final block and leaving a hollow chamber of air in the centre of the block." The block is hardier. The block can withstand weather. Welcome the block. Below are ten ways to use the glass block. You never know, you just might find a place for it in your heart and home (or restaurant or shop). 1. Build a low wallThe glass block can be stacked in a low profile, letting the light shine through and creating an interesting structural element pretty much anywhere. Try it in the kids' room (just beware the corners, this is still glass here). 2. Build an indoor solariumAnother trend due for a revival is the small, glassed-in room thats open to the air above by way of a cutout in the roof. Popular in Central California, where winter sees more rain than snow, these little rooms allow for a sanitized relationship with the outdoors and act as a display case for plants. With glass block, depending on the variety you choose, the showcase becomes impressionistic, as views of the plants are warped by the shape of the glass. 3. Create an outdoor shower enclosure Outdoor showers are great, especially for beach houses. They cut down on the indoor sand-to-floor ratio and bathroom traffic. But theres always the question of making it private enough to feel usable when a bunch of people are around. Glass bricks, especially along with good green shrubs, are perfect for the job.5. Fill them with lightsFill a glass brick with holiday lights. Set it on the counter. Boom. A fun and quirky light source that casts a pretty pattern on walls and counters. 6. Replace an entire wall with glass brickIts not exactly a recasting of the original idea, but once youve seen the new varieties of glass blocks out there you might be more inclined to give it a go. Many of you might feel an aversion to the particular type of glass bricks used in the former time. Today, the shapes and shades make it feel like an almost entirely different medium. 7. Make a light fixtureSimilar to the fill-the-brick-with-lights idea, the concept here is to build a small sheet of bricks and hang it so it becomes a sconce or shade. (Kind of like this.)8. Paint the grout Small changes, big impact. A lot of the glass bricks used in 80s came with a sickly gray grout that did the wall no favors. Try a shock of vermillion or teal. If youre hand painting, make sure to read some dos and dont of painting grout. Theres a method. 9. Divide a kitchen with a glass block wallIt can be risky to divide the cooking space from the living spaces with an opaque barrier, especially for less than roomy kitchensyou lose light and flow. But not with glass block. With proper expertise, they can be stacked right on an existing counter. 10. Put them in the gardenJust as they allow light to flow in a room, glass blocks can be used as retaining walls in the garden that add texture and topography without compromising views. Terracing is a great place to start your glass-brick garden adventure. Shop Glass Blocks8x8x3 Alpha$8 at qualityglassblock.com1919/8 Pink$12 at qualityglassblock.comQuality Glass Block Cross Ribbed Glass Block$13 at Amazon

It was in 1996, years before Julie Hillman opened her own design studio, that her career began. She was on maternity leave from her job in fashion, and she and her husband were searching for a home in the Hamptons. We couldnt find anything, and our realtor was fed up and said, You should buy a piece of land and build a house. Youre wasting my time, Hillman recalls.It took some hunting, but they found a plot in the woody northwestern end of East Hampton with a long entry and a lot of quiet. It is the Hamptons not of sea views and certainly not of parties, but of solitude. The decor had to reflect thatno obvious beachy references, but rather somewhere that could feel at once elegant and familiar.Pieter EstersohnIn the kitchen, the table is by Martin Szekely, the shearling sofa is custom, and the 18th-century armoire is French. Wiggle chair by Frank Gehry; walls in Benjamin Moores Cloud White; artworks by Stefan Sandner (center) and Becky Beasley (above mantel).Hillman proceeded to get hands-on in the design process to a granular extent. She mulled over every window, every door, she says with a laugh. I didnt realize it, but here was my new career that included my love for design and my love for collecting. She went on to found her own interior design firm, in New York City in 2002, and has since decorated homes for high-profile clients in New York, Aspen, Palm Beach, and the Hamptons. But this house was where so many of her design signatures began: liberal use of white, plays on proportion, a mix of ultramodern and one-of-a-kind flea market pieces. What all her projects share is a sense of timelessness. Its an approach that began with this house but that she takes for all her projects. I begin by looking for a deep understanding of how my clients live and what they really want, she says. Thats how I progressed for myself, and this is what works now. I want to create beautiful dream homes for clients, centered on who they are and how they live.Tour This Light-Filled Hamptons HomeFor her house in East Hampton, she opted to source everything herself, piece by piece. Even if that meant living without a sofa for a while. In fact, the first thing she bought for the home wasnt even furniture, it was a pair of sculptures she found in Thailand to put in niches in her dining room. She knew she wanted fireplaces, and she found three dramatic but oddly shaped ones in Paris flea markets and in Brussels. She installed them and then had the hearth openings custom built around them. Once, in the middle of an exercise class, she left to go claim a white metal chandelier she had spotted at a yard sale on Butter Lane. Several finds were so large they could not fit through the front door; she ended up bringing them in through windows. The homes dark floors and off-white walls (Benjamin Moores Cloud White, to be specific) are the perfect base for the pops of color in the modern art she collects. The pale walls also reflect the light that floods every room. Its why Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning were in the Hamptons. The light is spectacular, and its different from anywhere Ive ever been, she says. She takes walks on the beach even in winter, and she uses her house on weekends year-round. It's why Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning were in the Hamptons. The light is spectacular.Pieter EstersohnA George Nakashima chair at a vintage Jacques Adnet desk in the primary bedroom. The bed and daybed are custom; nightstand by John Dickinson; artworks by Bice Lazzari (above bed), Friedel Dzubas (over desk), and Russell Maltz (above mantel).Hillman has no curtains in her bedroom so she can wake up with the light. She admits she would never do that for a client: They all want blackout shades. Her house is filled with mistakesor, at least, quirks. The floors, for example, are ebony-stained pine because she was trying to save money. But pine, while economical, is soft, so the floors are now dented and scratched. Still, visitors assume theyre antique. Or take the pool, which is long, black, and narrow and designed to look like a pond. Its also quite far from the house, because Hillman didnt want to look out at a pool cover in the winter. If you forget a towel, its not exactly right off the kitchen, she says, shrugging. No one in her family will let her change a thing. My son just got married, and now he shares his room with his wife, Hillman says. It was pulling teeth to remove his hockey sticks and baby monkey chandelier. The family almost went to war when she converted an old playroom into a home theater during the pandemic. It was the first real change to the housethey havent done anything structural at allsince they moved in. After 30 years shes thinking she might be ready to take on renovating the bathrooms. Her East Hampton home may have been her first project, but its one that has clearly pleased the clients.This story originally appeared in the April 2025 issue of Elle Decor. SUBSCRIBEMarisa MeltzerMarisa Meltzer is a writer in New York who has contributed to The New York Times, the Washington Post, Elle, and many other publications.