Hot off the presses! Better Homes and Gardens has completely upgraded its Online Plant Encyclopedia, so you can easily search for and learn how to care for your plants. Its clear photographs make it easy to identify a houseplant and read about its characteristics and maintenance. Just check ‘Indoor Plants,’ click ‘Search,’ and browse away. Alright, miraculously your Dracaena is thriving. What’s the best way […] Read more »

Cruisin’ for a pair of Mid Century Modern Knoll Chairs? You can buy this pair at Lushpad. Desperate to unload your George Nelson for Herman Miller Marshmallow Sofa? Someone at Lushpad wants to buy it. Yummy, I think I want one too. If your furniture tastes lean toward Mid-Century Modern, or if you just want to learn more about pieces from that timeframe, you should […] Read more »

Happy spring! Easter is just a few hops away; you’re probably booking that ham at HoneyBaked right now. If you’re entertaining Aunt Marge, Uncle Fred and the whole clan this Easter, or if you just want to brighten up your spring table, here’s an Easter DIY craft especially for you. Many moons ago, I got the great bargain of 50 cents apiece for a stack […] Read more »

Most every room can use a pop of black. So how about black for a lamp or shade? You’ll drum up some drama with one of these noir beauties. Have a glass of sangria and stare awhile at the Vibe Swirl Table Lamp from Modern Lighting (above). Spiral your space with Ruche Collection’s Acrylic Pendant, or add a slice of class with this table lamp […] Read more »

If it’s not obvious, we’re into color here at HomeWorkshop. And so that we all make genius decisions when choosing color for our homes (or in reality so that we don’t have to repaint so often), we’ll be learning (or reviewing) color theory. To start here are the basics to build on—your “Color Wheel 101.” Our Simple Color Wheel includes twelve hues, or colors that […] Read more »

Ready to escape the cubicle and head for the comfort of your home office? Not so fast. Springwise shows us OfficePOD, a UK company that will deliver and install in your backyard this self-contained home office. Meant to help separate work and home life and marketed toward employers as a means of saving costs over keeping an employee in an on-site workstation, OfficePOD is a […] Read more »

The aluminum accent tables I posted about earlier were so swell that I thought the Design Junkies should add some similar “jewelry” to our rooms. So this week’s challenge is to Bling Something. Since the addition of her little sissy, we still have a few to-dos to check off in our tween daughter’s new pad. One is stacks of book storage like her old room. […] Read more »

The Grand Californian, Part Two Sometimes you know right away that a space is special. That’s how it is with the Great Hall at The Grand Californian Hotel. It begins when you enter through a kaleidoscope in art glass, this spectacular portal fashioned after the Gamble House Doors. An awesome example of a structure inspired by the California Arts and Crafts movement, Disneyland’s Grand Californian […] Read more »

Part Two Read Part One » I guess I’ve been in a letter-perfect mood lately. Anyway, here is the second batch of marvy monograms I promised. Enjoy the work of these Etsy artisans and don’t forget to click on the links to see the other initial items offered at their shops. Have a blast! I had to start with Lilyelle’s Groovy Personalized Shot Glasses (top). […] Read more »

Part One Read Part Two » Letter shop. That’s what I decided to do for you today. It’s nice to add a personal touch to your decor, so inspired by the vintage button pillow that some of you found in my Color Wheel of Surprises, I scoured Etsy for sassy initial items for your home. I found so much that I’m following up with Part […] Read more »

I never seem to get the ‘Q’ when I can use it. But memories are fond of Chuck and his dad facing off at ‘speed SCRABBLE.’ One minute to play your word and it didn’t phase them at all. Chuck would plop down a doozie like ‘zenith’ and Paul would counter with ‘quorum,’ on a double word score no less. No dictionary needed. So my […] Read more »

The Grand Californian, Part One You can find great design in the most unlikely places. Like smack in the middle of the mother of all theme parks in Anaheim, California. This Spring-Break week we’ve been hanging our shingle near Toon Town, just this side of Pirates of the Caribbean. It’s been heaven for our tween and our baby seems content anywhere, strangely even during the […] Read more »

Mental Note. Must visit Cooper-Hewitt on my next trip to NYC. A branch of the Smithsonian Institution since 1967, Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum is unique in the U.S. as a museum entirely focused on historic and contemporary design. Through the museum’s educational programs, it brings together professional designers and folks like us Design Junkies. I enjoyed this video of its recent museum lecture, ‘Designing the […] Read more »

I’ve got a makeover project in the works for you and I’ve been searching everywhere for the perfect fabric to use. I tracked down some fantastic sources with cases of cool cloth that I’ll share with you in future posts. But I had no luck finding that perfect material, just right for my project. Yah, I can be obsessive. The solution? Design a fabric myself. […] Read more »

Words as wall art are all the rage. You can declare Junior’s name in baseball letter plaques and grandma can greet visitors with a hand-painted ‘Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much’ sign. You can have names crafted in wood or metal, or grab some paper mâché letters from the craft store and coat them in color to accent your decor. You can slap up meaningful […] Read more »