Remodeling a bathroom can get pricey, but every home improvement magazine and website will tell you that it produces one of the greatest ROIs of any home improvement project. They key is to know where you want to spend your money, and which projects you can hold off on.

Last week a woman named Ana came into the showroom looking to remodel her master bath. She had started the remodel process last summer, but put everything on hold when her husband got laid off from his Wall Street job. With a new job securely in place, they decided to pick up the remodel, but have decreased their product* budget from $25,000 to $15,000.

Here is what we did to get her the bathroom of her dreams:
• The original tub Ana had chosen was a beautiful 6’ airbath from Kallista...

Spring Cleaning—and Organizing  July '09

So, What's Hot?  June '09

A Theme for Your Garden  May '09

Well-Coordinated Spaces  April '09

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One of the most popular New Year resolutions is tried-and-true: “I’m going to get organized.” After all, we’ve got more and more stuff that we keep packing into our homes, hoping that, against all odds, it’ll expand at the seems like Spandex pants at Thanksgiving. If you haven’t done it already, don’t let the passing of a few months deter you; spring is the perfect season to get started.

Where to start when there are so many areas of the house to attack? Perhaps best place to begin is with a prioritized list of all the chaotic spots you want to get organized. Our suggestion is to start with the bedroom closet, which...

What’s hot each season is always the big question. For many interior designers like me, the High Point Furniture Market in North Carolina is the equivalent of a clothing stylist’s Fashion Week in NYC. I personally look forward to and plan for the Furniture Market for months. While each Market is always exciting, I wasn’t sure what this year’s trip would hold. After all, the design world has a tendency to not only parallel the fashion runways, but to also respond to what is going on in the world. Would what might seem a sensible luxury at another time seem overindulgent and unnecessary in today’s economy? Would artists and designers be less inspired in their designs? Knowing how hard many of us are struggling right now,...

Spring is here which means that you may be thinking of ways to make the landscape around your house more special. This is easy to do if you have a vision of what you want to create. Choosing a theme for your garden will help provide a framework for all your landscape design decisions. For example, if you select a tropical theme then the plants and the design accents in your back yard should be bright, colorful and splashy. On the other hand, if you prefer a more meditative, Zen-like look, then the garden features should evoke a quiet, inward and muted quality. Here are a few garden themes and the plants that are a good match.

An English Town Garden is a restrained formal space that combines solid forms with loose flowery...

Looking at an empty room with bare white walls or a space equipped with furniture, but lacking that pulled-together look? Wondering what colors and fabrics to go for? Where to place the furniture and what size pieces to purchase?

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the thought of starting a design project, you’re not alone. But sometimes, taking the first step can go a long way toward creating a room with real style. Here are some ideas to help you get started:

1. Determine your “look.” Sometimes clients have a difficult time conveying their design preferences (we designers are often the recipient of the honest-but-frustrating, “I’ll know it when I see it.”). Whether...

It’s time to shed some light on stained glass. Do you have a beautiful piece sitting in the back of a closet or tucked away in the attic because it’s in need of some serious fixing? Here’s a piece of good news: stained glass can be repaired, restored, redone, or replicated.

Original stained glass, often found in the distinctive homes of Westchester, is a valuable asset that should be protected. Not only does it add character to your house, it pays homage to an art form that was an essential ingredient in décor from the late 1800s to the early 20th century. Today, stained glass is enjoying a renaissance again, so if you’re lucky enough to have it, it’s certainly a worthwhile investment to bring it back to life.

When it comes to...

Which piece would you choose for your living room: a deep-cushioned club chair or a well-proportioned wing chair? If you choose the club chair, I’d agree. Prefer the wing chair? I’d also agree.

That’s because home design is all about creating style that’s all your own. Contrary to what some people believe, style isn’t about money. It’s about enjoying the way you live. Gathering with family and friends and fully appreciating the comfort and beauty of your home is the most fashionable thing of all.

Real style transforms even the simplest objects and events. Yet, it doesn’t require more stuff—or a big budget—to enjoy its abundant or unanticipated pleasures. The more I work with clients, the...

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This past spring, I finally sold my very fine but fuel-thirsty SUV, a 2003 GMC Yukon Delani. Sold it for less than $10,000. Eight months earlier, the same car would have sold for about $18,000, which means the car lost $1,000 in value as each month passed. Loved that car, too.

Why such a quick drop in value? You guessed the obvious: fuel cost. The vast majority of us quickly saw the need to make a drastic change, resulting in a glut on the market of used vehicles equipped with six- or eight-cylinder engines.

Many drivers made the change not simply to reduce their own carbon footprint, but to get a better return on their green, their dollar. And that's perfectly fine. Many of us bought smaller and more efficient vehicles, while the SUV lovers simply settled for...