Author: Kim Cook

Cozying up in a favorite sweater is one of the distinct pleasures of autumn. This fall, designers and retailers are stitching up sweater motifs on an array of home decor. So while you’re wrapping yourself in a big, soft cardigan, you also can grace your space with a dollop of knitted comfort. Hannah Millman, executive…

Edgar Allan Poe and Halloween are enmeshed like cobwebs on a lamppost. In classics such as “The Cask of Amontillado,” “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” “The Masque of the Red Death” and more, the master of horror fiction gave us imagery – sinister masquerade balls, mysterious catacombs, menacing city streets – that has long…

Fans of crisp, modern architecture and clean-lined shapes will love one of this fall’s stronger style trends: faceted décor. For those who feel the whole bold, geometric-pattern thing is nearing overexposure, faceted furniture and prints make sense, according to New York designer Elaine Griffin. “Purer and streamlined, the faceted silhouette is the stylistic descendant of…

Many of us have one room in the house that doesn’t really have a job. Maybe we set it up with an air bed once in a while for guests, or shove out-of-season clothing boxes in there, or use it as a holding zone for stuff we’re not sure what to do with. But when…

Where fashion goes, decor follows. And this fall, the fashionistas are inspired by Scotland. Plaid capes, kilts and coats hit the fall catwalk for Saint Laurent and Stella McCartney. Marchesa showed tartan-printed lace, argyle and fur, and deconstructed kilt patterns in a dress collection. Maybe it’s Scotland’s referendum on independence that has drawn designers’ attention.…

When it’s time to start stocking the school backpack, it’s easy to grab a stack of plain, boring notebooks. But since kids have to tote these things to and fro every day, why not trade the standard-issue ones for something snazzy and personalized? There are plenty of eye-catching options to buy or to make yourself.…

Kitchens in traditional and vintage homes often are dressed in conservative garb: neutral hues, stainless steel, white-on-white or beige-on-beige. Historically, however, kitchens were actually pretty peppy, said Deborah Baldwin, editor of This Old House magazine. “Pastel greens, blues, creams and peaches reigned until the early 1930s, when casual, built-in eating areas were painted Kelly green,…

For many young people, a first apartment might be a cramped studio or a bedroom in a shared living arrangement. Juggling that room’s living, dining and sleeping spaces requires creativity. Simple design can make small chic – and livable, said Kathy Speas, owner of Speas Interior Design. The clean, spare lines of minimalist design could…

We’ve been picking flowers and sticking them in containers for thousands of years. The early Egyptians did it, as did the Chinese: Feng Shui guidelines for creating harmony in a home suggest placing vases of fresh-cut flowers throughout the dwelling to relieve stress and increase productivity and creativity. Today, artisans, designers and even florists continue…