I love this: Ikea and Marimekko have teamed up to create a collection of home goods at affordable prices that are also beautiful. They range in prices from this low cost bag at $2:
To this lovely side table with a tray for $79:
They even have clothing, like this robe for $40:
Amazing. Over at Chatelaine they have their 15 favorite from The Ikea Marimekko Bastua Collection. The three seen here were plucked from their list. Go to Chatelaine for more. Go check it out.
Tiny plants have been making me happy. I was typically bad with plants, but since the start of the pandemic, I’ve been keeping some in my home and mainly they’ve been doing well. So I recommend if you want to be happier, getting some tiny plants might be a good way to do that.
How do they make me happy? First, I like to see them around the place. They are like small art pieces scattered on shelves, desks and tables. It’s also just pleasant having greenery nearby. Second, they give me a reason to take care of something. Just a little of taking care of something makes me happy. Third, the success of them makes me proud and also happy: I no longer feel I have a black (not green) thumb. Fourth, it gives me a reason to go shopping — which I enjoy — and get something small and not spend too much money but still something nice (which is satisfying).
I am fortunate in that I have plenty of shops nearby that sell small plants. Another option is to get cuttings from friends who have plants. Here’s a guide to doing that..
As for pots, I got a half dozen or so from Ikea. They have some for as low as $1.99.
Now that I have you convinced :), here’s a guide to the 25 best plants for the home. I have several of them.
(Image on top is from that article on the 25 best plants. Image below is from IKEA.)
If you are decorating a space and you don’t know what to get, consider plants with really large leaves, like this here licuala grandis. It’s practically sculpture, but easier on the eyes and the wallet.
For more on this, check out these 12 houseplants with obscenely large leaves. One of those could be just what you need to liven up your place.
While generally not a fan of the recipes at this site, this piece at Tasty on how to cook in a small kitchen is jam packed with good ideas. Even if you have a much bigger kitchen, you could learn a lot from this piece. By the time you are done applying these ideas, you’ll be a much better and much happier cook.
(Image: link to image at tasty.co)
I like this piece: Why We Clutter, and What to Do About It – The New York Times. If you never decluttered your place before, it’s a good place to start.
Decluttering is like dieting though: you can make an effort to cut back, but unless you address the thoughts and behaviors that lead to clutter/overeating, you may end up back where you started.
I recommend while you are decluttering to take note of what you have excess of. Is it too much paper, clothing, books, utensils, tech stuff, or something else altogether? Those are the areas you need to focus your analysis of if you want to have any hope of living with less clutter. In the end you may be fine with periodically paring down the amount of clothes or books or stationery you have from time to time.
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Posted in advice
Tagged clutter, declutter, decluttering, home, minimalism
Now here’s an unusual recipe. Instead of it being to cook something to eat, you use the ingredients to make your house smell better! To see what I mean, check this out: How to Make Your Home Smell Like a Williams Sonoma Store – Williams-Sonoma Taste
If you ever have been into a Williams Sonoma store, you know how good they smell. Especially around Christmastime. You might think you have to buy some expensive product to make them smell good but you don’t. Just get some simple ingredients.
Not sure what the purpose of this post is, other than offer up a snapshot of how people live in NYC in all extremes, from this 400-Square-Foot Brooklyn Studio with a weird layout:
To this somewhat bigger One-Bedroom in Brooklyn with a Smart Layout:
To this lifestyle of the rich and famous home of director Paul Feig’s on Madison Avenue:
They are all very New York in their own way. Nothing is big though they try to look it. Brooklyn is now the place for the young to live: once affordable Manhattan rarely is. It’s all fascinating, at least to me.
P.S. Not NYC related, but I also found this fascinating: The dingy apartment of my 20s left an indelible mark on me. Many of us start out living not in places like above, but in crappy little dives. It leaves a mark on us and shapes us in a way. Recommended
It looks like minimalism has had it’s time and now it’s time for maximalism to take over. At least that’s the sense I get, reading this:More Is More: The End of Minimalism | The Walrus
My thoughts are this:
For more on maximalism, here’s some other pieces I wrote. I also wrote more on minimalism too. 🙂
(Image via vinterior.co …I love it)
It looks like Gap is expanding into home decor like other companies like Zara and HMV. As Apartment Therapy explains:
Gap Home is a new brand of over 400 home essentials including bedding and bath, kitchenware, and general home decor like curtains, pillows, and bathroom necessities, with prices starting under $16. The brand plans to release seasonal and special lines throughout the year, so get ready to add a bunch of goodies to your holiday decor collection.
For more on it, see Apartment Therapy.
For those of us who suffer through household chores, I have two links for you. I can’t say they will help. Lord knows I have posted many such links and I still hate chores. But I keep trying. No doubt you do too.
I thought this was great: The Decorating Lessons I’ve Learned From Moving 12 Times in 12 Years
I’ve made many of these mistakes the last time I moved (e.g. waiting too long to decorate). I’ll review this list the next time I am getting ready to move.
If you are planning to move, you owe it to yourself to read that piece.
Good luck with your move!
(Photo by Michal Balog on Unsplash)
Some people love cleaning their house. I envy them. I hate it, and only the thought of a dirty and mess place gets me through it.
If you are like me, I highly recommend this: The Lazy Person’s Guide to a Happy Home: Tips for People Who (Really) Hate Cleaning | Apartment Therapy
You will find some tips to make the process less painful. Will you enjoy it? Please. Let’s not get carried away. But you will not mind it so much.
(Photo by Daiga Ellaby on Unsplash )
Let’s face it: many coffee tables are boring. For a view of some that are anything but, you want to go to this link.
Take the one above, where you can have a coffee AND grow a garden.
For something completely different, there is this steampunk version:
There are also simpler but unique ones as well.
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Tagged coffeettable, decor, design, furniture, home, table, yankodesign
One way to get some relief — short of moving — is to rearrange your space to make it seem newer and different. If you are stuck for ideas, you might be able to steal some from here: The Best Studio Apartment Layouts We Saw in 2020 | Apartment Therapy. Make a note of the ideas you like. Maybe get some paper and pencil and start drawing new layouts. Soon you will be on your way to freshening up your place.
If you treat it like a game, it might actually be fun to redo your space. Maybe throw out some old piece or wall hanging and get something new too while you are at it.. Paint an accent wall, even. With all this rearranging and redecorating you just might find your old place seems fresh and new again. And that will make the pandemic bearable over the next while.
(Photo by Alexandra Gorn on Unsplash)
Hey, if you are really really really missing your office cubicle (why?) and you want to recreate that at home (why??), you can, with this:
It’s called the Hug desk, and you can read about it, here.
Please try and make a nice work place in your home instead. I wrote about home offices to die for, here. These are much better to recreate, imho.
Sadly, you cannot buy this modular dog bed that industrial designer Hyemin Kim created called the MUF as a project for his studies. But if you go to this link, you can see more of his approach to making his dog bed that can appeal to all types of dogs. You might be able to take some of his ideas and apply them to your own dog bed. Your dog will thank you for it, because of course, they are a good dog. 🙂
If you are in a rut with keeping your place clean and organized, this could help:
It’s a pandemic: it’s hard to go anywhere nice and clean, so make your place that place. Or you can do what I do: procrastinate about cleaning and organizing by reading about it instead. 🙂
Comments Off on Want help getting your place neat and tidy this weekend? I have some links
Tagged advice, apartmenttherapy, cleaning, home, organizing, tidying
Ok, ok, maybe that is a bit ambitious. But as the winter settles in, you might want a bit of summer in your home. If just to help you get through the days when it seems like winter will never end and summer will never come. (Collapse face first on the bed after you say that. :))
If you like that idea, read this: The Plant That’ll Make it Feel Like Summer in Your Home All Year Long.
Then go get one and get started on making your own orangery.
Need more encouragement: read this from Bon Appetit.
P.S. if you are asking, “what the heck is an orangery”, then go here: Orangery – Wikipedia. It’s a fascinating idea and history.
Image above of the Belvedere Orangery in Vienna, via Wikipedia.
Comments Off on On starting your own Orangery this winter
Tagged conservatories, crtus, decor, gardens, home, ideas, orangeries
Nothing radical decor-wise, but here are some good ideas from IKEA. For example, they’ve packaged up some of their products to make improving your home easier: IKEA Launched Decor Kits That Let You Mix Up Your Style Easily
They have these speakers (seen above) that I would quickly get if I didn’t have a Sonos speaker already. It combines the quality of Sonos with the affordability of IKEA: SYMFONISK WiFi bookshelf speaker – black – IKEA.
Speaking of affordability, here’s a reminder that IKEA is always stocked with affordable items: Under $10 – Affordable Furniture and Gifts – IKEA
Finally, it is easy to criticize rooms with too much IKEA furniture in it. Such rooms tend to look like a showroom rather than your room. However, for people who have a hard time making good choices about their decor, stealing ideas from IKEA makes a lot of sense. To see what I mean, check this article out: IKEA Catalog 2021 Neutral Calming Rooms | Apartment Therapy
Use Routines. As Wired magazine explains:
Instead of saying, “OK, Google. Turn off bedroom and play rain sounds,” and hoping Google correctly processes that those are two separate commands, you can say “OK, Google. Good night” and have a routine take care of the rest.
Essentially Routines are programs for Google Home devices to run. If you find yourself giving your Home device multiple instructions at a time, consider making a routine.
Coziness is in the eye (body?) of the beholder. For example, I find the above image cozy. Other people might find the picture below cozy.
Regardless of which one you prefer, I think having a cozy corner in your home is essential, especially as the cooler weather starts.
If you don’t have one or need inspiration, here’s 12 cozy corners from Cup of Jo you can check out and steal ideas from. A nice couch helps. So do blankets and pillows. Sleeping dogs and cats are nice. As are books and fireplaces. But don’t let me tell you how to be cozy: I think you should get there however you think best. 🙂
(Images from links to that blog post on Cup of Jo).
One is analog and one is digital.
The analog one is to declutter the space you are using to work from home. Apartment Therapy has a plan to not only declutter it but to make it better. (I find it easier to declutter if you can image the space looking good at the end).
The second decluttering plan is for your phone. Let’s face it, you have tons of digital clutter. Here’s another Apartment Therapy plan to tackle that.
So I read this, The “Saturday Morning” Weekend Cleaning Checklist | Apartment Therapy, which begins with
So you didn’t clean this week but you want a clean house to hang out in over the weekend. And you don’t want to spend half your weekend getting ready to enjoy it. Good news: You can condense your weekly cleaning into one super concentrated Saturday morning blitz of chores. It’s best if you can solicit some housemates (sometimes known as spouses and children) to help.
Now I am skeptical. But I will try it tomorrow and see how it goes. If you need a “goal” for the weekend, maybe you can too.
(Photo by pan xiaozhen on Unsplash)
You might reply, sure Bernie, that’s fine and I agree, but rugs are expensive. I can’t argue that: rugs can be expensive. But there’s also good cheap rugs and if you don’t believe me, read this: Cheap Thrills: Vintage-Style Rugs Under $100 | Apartment Therapy
Now, that’s an older piece. Some of those rugs may not be there. But it’s worth reading just to get the names of websites that have low cost rugs. Check them out; you’re sure to find one you like.
If you want to change your room, you can change your furniture and you can paint your walls. But that’s can end up being a lot time and money. A cheap rug could just be the thing to freshen up your room.
P.S. Not all the rugs are colorful, but I like colorful rugs so I chose that image. Also that rug has pink and pink in a rug tends to go with many room colours.
P.S.S. IKEA is also a source of inexpensive rugs. And their black and white Stockholm rugs is famous for a good reason while being low cost.
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August 2, 2020 in decor, new!
Tagged apartmenttherapy, decor, home, Ikea, rugs
If your house is a bit of a mess right now, don’t beat yourself up. As this article showed me, it’s a pretty common problem: My House Has Not Kept Up With the Pandemic in The New York Times.
Now what you do about it is up to you. If you are fine with the mess, then fine. But if you are like me and the mess is getting to you after awhile, I recommend you start setting up a schedule to tackle it. Even bits at a time, starting with an area you can manage. You may find (like I did) that after you clean and tidy a bit, you feel better. Sure, no one may be visiting, but you’ll feel better, and that’s important too
For example, if you have space, do what good hotels do and make a lounging area, like this:
Let’s face it we all have more time these days to lounge.
For more such tips, see: 25 ways to make your master bedroom feel like a boutique hotel
Comments Off on You are not travelling any time soon, so now is a good time to make your master bedroom feel like one in a boutique hotel :)
April 4, 2020 in decor, new!
Tagged apartmenttherapy, decor, furniture, home
Hey. You’re home. You feel: I might as well clean this place. Or maybe you want to get started on your spring cleaning. Good. Here’s a great list of how you can replace many of your kitchen cleaning products with just vinegar (and maybe a bit of water): 18 Places You Should Be Cleaning with Vinegar in Your Kitchen | Bon Appétit
Save money. Cut out those terrible chemicals. Learn some skills. 🙂
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March 25, 2020 in advice, new!
Tagged advice, bonappetit, cleaning, home, springcleaning
Might be here: Under 200 Square Foot Studio Apartment in Hong Kong | Apartment Therapy.
Cozy and minimal is fine, but this is basically the space you find in a big camping tent. I am sure some people can adopt just fine, but I don’t know if I could live in such a space for long. I also wonder if this is the direction we are heading for cities other than Hong Kong. Higher property costs and lower incomes might cause this to happen in other cities. I don’t look forward to that.
August 31, 2019 in homes, new!
Tagged cities, home, homes, hongkong, minimalism, smallspace, smallspaces
I am fascinated by living in a small space. Here are some of the better links I’ve found on how to live well in such confines.
(Picture from the Cup of Jo piece.)
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July 29, 2019 in decor, new!
Tagged decor, design, home, smallspace, smallspaces
Your home office may never get near to any of the ones in this piece,
25 Home Office Designs & Decorating Ideas — Dwell – Dwell, but it’s nice to dream and get inspiration, and that article can help there. The image above is one of the more modest ones. But hey, go check it out and steal some ideas.
Marie Kondo and her method of cleaning up are very hot now, likely due to her TV show. This hotness sparked a number of discussions about her, such as this: “Tokimeku” Means So Much More Than “Spark Joy” in Japanese | Apartment Therapy. It also sparked other, more extreme discussions, such as how it is racist to not account for the deeper Shinto meaning in her works.
I read her book when it first came out and I admired it. I didn’t agree with all of it, but I liked her approach to life and the things we own. I got the Shinto aspect of the book, but I don’t recall that it was emphasized, so criticizing people of missing that who are unaware of Shintoism is a ridiculous criticism.
There have been shows like Marie Kondo on before. It makes sense. We are driven in North American culture to accumulate, and shows like hers provide us with an antidote to this. When Marie Kondo is forgotten, another home organizer will come along.
I have read more extreme versions of Marie Kondo, like “Goodbye, Things”, which promotes a very minimal life style. I bought it the way I buy other books that have subjects to aspire to but will never achieve. I guess others have too.
There is something to be said for a minimalist lifestyle, a maximalist life style, and something in between. In the end, what counts is that you have positive feelings towards the place you inhabit, however much you have.
One thing Marie Kondo misses is the notion of a room as a workshop. If you have a hobby, be it cooking or woodworking or gardening or reading, you likely have a room where all your tools and supplies are. If you are good at your hobby, you likely have alot of them. That makes sense. It doesn’t make sense to get rid of them just because you want to have less things. Have what you need to do the job when you want to. You could still trim back: do you really need 10 cutting boards or 3 screwdrivers that are exactly the same? But otherwise keep the tools you need or may need.
I think Marie Kondo is great because she encourages us to live better with some simple guidelines. Even if you don’t follow them all, you will live better if you consider her message and try to apply it. In the end you’ll have a better home, and you will have a better idea of what you consider a better home.
Image from the NYTimes article on her, here.
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February 13, 2019 in decor, thoughts
Tagged decor, design, essays, home, mariekondo, maximalism, minimalism
Then you need this. Top 40 Tricks and DIY Projects to Organize Your Office. Quite a few good set ups and tips there.
I thought this was clever:
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Tagged decor, DIY, home, homeoffice
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This is a really good study put out by IKEA: IKEA Feeling Of Home Study – Emotional Needs At Home | Apartment Therapy.
According to the summary piece in Apartment Therapy, what makes a place feel like home are:
It makes sense. Sadly, those are feelings that people may not have towards the place they live. People struggling to pay rent, or sharing with others, may not feel like they have privacy or ownership or security. People always moving lose that sense of belonging.
It’s a good thing to read, and a good thing to contemplate about your own living space. Here’s hoping you have all those feelings about where you live right now.
Comments Off on What makes a house a home? IKEA has the answer (no, it’s not a new Billy bookcase)
Tagged apartmenttherapy, decor, home, house, Ikea
If that describes you, then you want to read this: Low Maintenance House Plants – How Often Should You Water | Apartment Therapy as well as this this.
Those two pieces are also good for people that travel alot, but want to still have indoor plants.
If you struggle to declutter your places, then Apartment Therapy has two good guides on how to make some progress on it:
Decluttering is always a good idea. You can live easier, and you can appreciate the things you have better.
Some of you might hate them, but there is something cozy and restful to me in these type of bedrooms: (Really) Small Bedroom Inspiration | Apartment Therapy.
This one is also nice:
They make me think of sleeping on a train. Good night!
First off, I think the quilts by Elizabeth Elliott are beautiful. Besides their beauty, I found it remarkable how she goes about making them. According to this piece, Quilts Made of Code by Elizabeth Elliott – Design Milk, the quilts are designed…
using a programming language called Processing. Through Processing, Elliott edits coding and generates random formations of geometric and traditional quilt block shapes. Afterward, she plays and edits the configuration until it becomes a quilt design she likes.
Here’s one more:
.
Go see the Design Milk article to see more and get more information.
Now, you might think: ugh, painting is alot of work. But as this piece shows, there’s some good paint jobs you can do in a weekend that still leaves you time to do other things.
For example, you can paint a door:
Or even just part of a wall, like the moulding:
The piece in Apartment Therapy is worth looking at to get ideas. If you’ve been tired of looking at the same old space and you don’t want to get new furnishings, a splash of paint can do the trick of improving the space.
Another option: do a painting (or buy a painting if shopping vs doing is your thing). This article has lots of examples, such as this:
And if you think: I suck at art, then read this piece in Hypoallergic about how making art, no matter how bad, can reduce stress.
Now head to the paint store and start your next project.
(See the articles for credits for the pictures.)
Is this: decorating with large vases and branches. As you can see from this article, the result is beautiful.
Of course, you can also do flowers:
Either way, if you have the space, oversized branches, flowers and vases are dramatic and gorgeous.
For more on this, click the Apartment Therapy link above. Images linked to from that article.
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