By Anne-Marie Kovacs, Chief Wife
I saw these lampshades while visiting Toronto a few months ago and, being in the beginning stages of planning a large event for a non-profit, I couldn’t help but be immediately attracted by these unusual, beautiful, colorful and oh-so affordable statement-making lampshades. How they would – literally and metaphorically – light up the room and create instant ambiance for the event. And then, I mentally started redecorating my family room and my teens’ bedrooms too.
Let me introduce the Jigsaw Lamp (shade). It’s available in 11 different colors and six different sizes. Each kit consist of 30 [...]

Sure, tradition is nice. But to us, tradition is kept interesting when amplified by new ideas and a fresh (and always respectful) twist on old rituals. See some of the ideas we found here:

 
Snowfall Lights – I remember being mesmerized by these lights when I saw them on the streets of downtown L.A. a couple years ago. Now theses lights are available to the public for home use. The set features 6 inch light tubes that give the effect of falling snow. Gorgeous. Here’s a video that demonstrates the live effect of the snowfall lights. Available on Amazon.

 
Inflatable Wreath – [...]

By Anne-Marie Kovacs, Chief Wife
Evenings are getting longer. And c-c-c-cooler. And though we have a fireplace in our house, we are notoriously lazy about lighting it up. We love the coziness effect, the warm ambiance a beautiful fire creates, but between you and me, it’s sooooo much work. And I’m just thinking about the getting the firewood in the house part…
So, I’m thinking of going instant. As in Instant Fireplace.
No, I’m not talking fireplace DVD here (cute, but where’s the heat?)
No, no, no. I’m talking a fireplace with real flames and capacity to heat up the place a little. And [...]

Picture your beautiful bathroom that you have just lovingly freshened up with some new towels, bath mat and cute accessories. Then you take one look a your new waste basket and it’s draped with the ugly, ill-fitting shopping bag with handles. Ok, so you get points for re-using but still, it’s not a pretty sight and the whole ambiance has just taken a nose dive. This is exactly what Muriel Wiener thought when she came up with the idea for Designerliners that will ’dress the mess!’
These decorative, disposable, reusable and biodegradable liners can be used in any of your home or [...]

By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor
My mother suddenly passed away four years ago and not a day goes by that I don’t think of her and miss her dearly. Losing my mother, even though I was in my 40′s, felt like I was being abandoned. I felt a sense of loss that was so paralyzing. I was left unable to take care of myself or make a single decision on my own. I could not fathom that she was actually gone. I would often pick up the phone on Sunday to call her, since that was our standing phone date [...]

The transition time between the frigid, wet winter (yes, it gets cold and wet in Southern California too!) and the heat of the summer is, by far, my favorite time of the year. Growing up on the East Coast, spring came in spits and spats with the crocus bulbs blooming through patches of snow and the first robin spotted on the front lawn that looked like it had not seen the sun for months. But once the snow was completely gone and people braved the outdoors wearing only a t-shirt (even though it was still cool outside) you knew that [...]

Spring is in the air and I’m in love… With this new line of just-right-quirky outdoor/indoor accessories by Firmly Planted.
The line was launched by Master Gardener Alicia Blas, who actually began her career as a photo stylist and set designer for some high-brow retailers in Chicago and Florida. It’s upon designing a garden set that she found that her true calling was really to design with plants and flowers. And, it’s when the fire department came calling to her home to let her know that her house numbers needed to be displayed that her instincts and flair as a stylist [...]

We are loving this new wave of professional-grade DIY services (remember this article that covered on-demand marketplaces). So empowering. If you’re like us, you will also love to hear about this service: RoomsbyYou.com, an on-demand customization marketplace for the textile side of home décor. Customers choose from a variety of fabrics to create their item(s) of choice. Once the choices are made, the company manufactures the order on-demand in San Francisco.
Currently, 11 designers over offer 90 collections of colors, patterns and prints to create endless mix-and-match combinations. Customizable products include duvets, shams, decorative pillows, dog beds, bean bag chairs, curtain [...]

Decals. There not just for decorating bikes and lockers and school binders anymore. Decals are all grown up now. Graphic wall decals are such an easy, quick and affordable way to add flair and color to a room. They are great for dorms and apartments too and since the decals are easily removable and reusable. No mess, no fuss and perhaps no tools required for installation either. All you need to install these is a smooth clean surface.
We’ve been watching the growing crop of cool offering of decals for home décor and thought we’d give you a round up of [...]

By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor
I know, it may seem that I am jumping the gun on spring here, but as I live in SoCal (don’t hate me!), I can tell you that the birds are a-buzzing over here!  I have noticed (and heard) plenty of house finches looking for a place to nest this last week and thought it would be a good time to put up our Tweet Tweet Homes. These eco-friendly bird houses come in a variety of brightly colored designs. I love that the are made with recycled plastics and are 100% recyclable after their use.
My [...]