Living Room Built-Ins: How to Design Millwork That Looks Like It Was Always There
Key Takeaways Good living room built-ins look like part of the house, not furniture pushed against a wall. Proportion is what does that. They go into the space plan first. A built-in is the one thing in the room you cannot move later. Take them to the ceiling and line them up with the mantel, […]
Interior Styling: Why a Room Isn’t Finished Until It’s Styled
Key Takeaways Interior styling is the last layer of a room: books, art, objects, lamps, flowers and textiles, placed so the room feels finished. A room is not finished until it is styled. When a room feels incomplete, it is usually missing accessories, not furniture. Objects carry biography. Books show your interests, art shows what […]
Powder Room Design: The One Room Where You Should Take the Risk
Key Takeaways Good powder room design commits to one strong idea and carries it through every surface. It is the safest room in the house to be bold: small, no shower steam, and visited for minutes rather than lived in. Wallpaper belongs here. Choose vinyl near the sink so a bold pattern can take splashes […]
Old House Interior Design in Hinsdale: The Hard Part Is Usually the Interesting Part
Key Takeaways Old house interior design starts with what the house keeps, before a single new thing is chosen. Original millwork, floors and mantels are the hardest things to replace. Keep them where you can, and use color to decide how loudly they speak. Old houses are full of surprises. In a 100-year-old Chicago house, […]
Condo Interior Design in Chicago: A Lincoln Park Condo, Rethought From the Ceiling Down
Key Takeaways Condo interior design starts with what the building will not let you change: the ceiling, the structure, the plumbing and the association’s rules. In a low condo kitchen, run the cabinets to the ceiling. In our Lincoln Park project they had stopped about a foot short, which made the room feel even lower. […]
Quiet Luxury Interior Design: Why It Reads So Differently in a Real Home
Key Takeaways Quiet luxury is about how a room is made, not what color it is. Construction, scale and restraint carry it. A beige palette is optional. The version on Instagram and Pinterest is a recipe of greige, boucle and travertine, and a house built from one recipe looks like it was ordered from a […]
Whole-Home Interior Design in Oak Brook: Cohesion Is Not the Same as Matching
Key Takeaways Whole-home interior design means the whole house is planned as one project, so layout, lighting, millwork, finishes, furniture and styling are decided against each other rather than room by room over several years. Cohesion is not the same as matching. Repeating one palette through every room is the easiest way to make a […]
How to Style 2026’s Color of the Year: Two Very Dark Colours, Used Carefully
Last updated August 27, 2026 Key Takeaways Benjamin Moore chose Silhouette AF-655, a deep espresso brown with charcoal undertones. Behr chose Hidden Gem N430-6A, a smoky jade sitting between blue and green. Both are dark. Silhouette has a light reflectance value of around ten, which puts it near the bottom of the scale and changes […]
2026 Furnishing Trends: Which Ones Survive Contact With a Real House
Last updated August 27, 2026 Key Takeaways Judge a trend by which layer of the room it lands in. On paint and cushions, be bold. On stone, joinery and a sofa frame, be sure. The things people are actually asking us for are warmth, colour in the smaller rooms, better storage and better light, rather […]
Warm Metals and Rich Woods: Decide Whether Your Finishes Should Age
Last updated August 27, 2026 Key Takeaways The bigger decision is not which metal but whether you want a finish that ages or one that stays exactly as delivered. Unlacquered brass darkens and marks with use. That is the point of it, and it is the wrong choice for anyone who wants it uniform. Mixing […]