Why a Tray Makes a Coffee Table Look Finished
“Just get a nice tray, it’ll pull the whole table together.” That’s what the woman two desks over told me when I mentioned my coffee table looked like a table…
The Empty Space on Top of Your Wardrobe: Use It, Style It or Leave It
Picture it: I’m standing on a barstool that is one hundred percent not rated for standing on, holding a shoebox full of tangled Christmas lights, one foot already committed to…
Light Pink Walls Without the Nursery Look
My sister repainted her guest room in what the paint chip called “Blush Whisper” right before her father in law came to visit for two weeks, and by the time…
Dark Brown Leather Couch: Coffee Tables, Pillows and Armchairs That Work
You’re standing in the delivery guy’s way while he waits for you to sign off on this dark brown leather couch that just got carried up three flights of stairs,…
Gray Couch Bought, Now Comes the Hard Part: Everything Around It
“Gray goes with everything, you can’t get it wrong.” That’s what the guy at the furniture store told me when I bought my sofa, standing there with his hands in…
Brown Sofas Are Making a Quiet Return: How to Style One Now
A woman at the fabric counter, maybe thirty years old, tanned the way people who ski a lot are tanned, told me brown sofas were “having a moment.” She said…
Coffee Table Trial and Error: What Stayed and What Got Moved
What do you actually think a coffee table is for? Because I spent about three years furnishing mine like the answer was “displaying a single orchid and a stack of…
Light Gray Walls Look Easy Until the Carpet and Curtains Show Up
A woman going through the same bin of drawer pulls as me at an estate sale off Waters Road leaned over, completely unprompted, and said “gray’s such a safe choice,…
Living With a Brown Leather Sofa: What Sits Well Around It
My roommate had literally just set a mug of tea directly on the arm of my brown leather sofa, no coaster, nothing, and before I could even get the words…
Beige Sofas Arent Boring, Theyre Just Under Styled
I saw a beige sofa once that made me want to apologize to it on behalf of whoever bought it. Flat, low pile, the exact same tone as the wall…